![\"Prison](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Calvin-Neufeld-Evolve-our-Prisons.jpg\")
<\/a>Calvin Neufeld is the head of Evolve our Prisons.\u00a0Photo: Brittany Guyot\/APTN.<\/p>\nNeufeld said there is no labelling to\u00a0identify\u00a0prison-produced\u00a0dairy,\u00a0calling\u00a0the lack of transparency troubling.<\/p>\n
He said it\u2019s important for public to be able to make informed decisions about what products they purchase and consume, further stating that some may see the lack of labour protections of prison workers as a human rights violation.<\/p>\n
When asked how\u00a0the CSC ensures transparency when\u00a0prison made products like dairy enter public supply chains, no answer was provided to\u00a0APTN Investigates.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the public knew their milk came from a prison,\u00a0I think\u00a0it would leave a sour taste,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Under current federal policy, inmates are not legally recognized as employees and are excluded from workplace protections and\u00a0labour\u00a0laws.<\/p>\n
Jeff Ewert, a former federal inmate and the current president of the Canadian Prisoners\u2019\u00a0Labour\u00a0Confederation, is advocating for the rights\u00a0of prisoners to unionize and receive fair wages.<\/p>\n
He says that while he was incarcerated, his correctional plan stipulated that he engage in employment services provided by CORCAN.<\/p>\n
A correctional plan outlines how an offender\u2019s risks and needs will be managed while in custody. Each plan is individualized and designed to support their reintegration into society upon release.<\/p>\n
APTN asked the CSC how many offenders\u00a0are required to\u00a0work in prison as part of their correctional\u00a0plan\u00a0but no answer was provided.<\/p>\n
According to the CSC website, $97.1 million was generated through inmate labour in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll do 10 years in prison and get\u00a0out\u00a0and you have nothing,\u201d Ewert said. \u201cYou\u2019d be starting from scratch, and that\u2019s something the public should be concerned about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ewert said\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0crucial for inmates to have a safety net when\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0released, warning that without support, many will return to crime.<\/p>\n Federal inmates earn between $5.25\u00a0and $6.90 a\u00a0day, wages that have not changed in more than four decades.<\/p>\n Ewert spent more than four decades in prison and said he wants to ensure that future inmates have access to\u00a0labour\u00a0protections and skills that will help them after release.<\/p>\n The\u00a0CSC has long defended its prison work programs as tools for rehabilitation and reintegration.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can register offenders as apprentices under the Dairy Herdsperson Program with the Ministry of Skills and Trades,\u201d said Detlef Fischer, who oversees the farm program at\u00a0Joyceville. \u201cWe find a lot of the guys just have a great sense of pride and purpose to be part of the operation.\u201d<\/p>\n But CSC does not track post-release employment outcomes for program participants, Fischer confirmed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the offenders are released and past their warrant dates, we don\u2019t have a right to really track that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Indigenous people make up less than five per cent of Canada\u2019s population but more than 30 per cent of its prison population.<\/p>\n At\u00a0the\u00a0Joyceville\u00a0Institution, Isaiah, a Potawatomi inmate working on the prison farm, described the work as personally meaningful.<\/p>\n \u201cIt connects me with the Creator,\u201d he said, with CSC staff a few feet away.\u00a0\u201cYou get a lot of time to yourself as you\u2019re working around here.\u201d<\/p>\n Advocates say the overrepresentation of Indigenous inmates in programs involving agricultural or manual\u00a0labour\u00a0raises questions about how the system reflects Canada\u2019s colonial past.<\/p>\n When asked how much money Indigenous inmates generate for the CSC, no response was provided.<\/p>\n Zinger said the pay scale for prison work has not been adjusted since 1981, despite the rising cost of living. He called the policy \u201cout of step\u201d with modern correctional practices and human rights standards.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that we require prisoners to continue to function with these kinds of inappropriate inmate pay is a real problem,\u201d Zinger said.<\/p>\n CORCAN operates within Correctional Service Canada\u2019s $3.2-billion annual budget. Its prison industries supply goods and services to other federal agencies, including the RCMP, Department of National\u00a0Defence\u00a0and Canada Revenue Agency.<\/p>\n Critics argue that while the system generates economic value, it does little to prepare inmates for employment after release.<\/p>\n For Ewert, the real impact of incarceration is not just the time spent inside but what lingers after release.<\/p>\n He said his push for prison\u00a0labour\u00a0unionization is about dignity and recognition.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t earn a livelihood,\u201d Ewert said. \u201cWe\u2019re excluded as employees under the law, so we don\u2019t even get to make the case for our rights.\u201d<\/p>\n From office furniture to government uniforms\u00a0and now\u00a0the milk on Canadians\u2019 breakfast\u00a0tables, prison\u00a0labour\u00a0continues to feed a system hidden in plain sight.<\/p>\n Neufeld said the program raises uncomfortable questions about how\u00a0the CSC\u00a0benefits\u00a0from low-paid inmate\u00a0labour.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople\u00a0do come\u00a0out of\u00a0prisons,\u201d he said. \u201cThey will be your\u00a0neighbours, your family, your friends. The quality of people coming out matters.\u201d<\/p>\n Zinger said that if rehabilitation is the goal, transparency and fair compensation must follow.<\/p>\n \u201cIf tomorrow prisoners stopped doing the work they do, CSC would have to hire from outside,\u201d he said. \u201cIt would cost hundreds of millions to replace that\u00a0labour.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \n Report an Error \t\tContinue Reading<\/p>\n<\/a>Jeff Ewert is a former inmate who is advocating for prisoner\u00a0worker\u00a0rights. Photo: Brittany Guyot\/APTN.<\/p>\n<\/a>Ivan Zinger says if CSC was forced to hire outside work to run the farms, it would cost millions of dollars. Photo: Brittany Guyot\/APTN.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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