FOR A MORE EFFECTIVE PRISON SYSTEM

Canada's 54 federal penitentiaries hold about 12,700 inmates serving
sentences longer than two years. They are guarded and served by about
14,500 staff at a cost of nearly $1.8 billion a year.

If the Conservative government gets its way, those numbers will soon
be going up. A bill now before Parliament would impose increased
automatic prison terms for gun-related crimes. Another bill awaiting
introduction would impose minimum jail terms for certain drug-related
offences. (Just this week in Dorval, it's worth noting, a young woman
was killed and police were seeking a suspect just released from prison
after a drug-trafficking sentence.)

A crackdown on crime was one of Stephen Harper's five priorities, and
polls indicate that in general, Canadians want him to deliver.

So this is a very good time to be thinking seriously about how our
prisons work, and how they could work better. For that purpose Finance
Minister Jim Flaherty's budget last month set aside $5 million for a
study of the prison system. Now the government has named the
five-member panel, headed by Rob Sampson, who was corrections minister
in Mike Harris's Ontario Conservative government.

Media reports focused on the fact that in Ontario, Sampson showed some
interest in prison privatization. But Public Security Minister
Stockwell Day quickly said that notion is not on the table, and a look
at the other members of the well-chosen new panel suggests a less
controversial agenda: Serge Gascon is a 30-year veteran of Montreal's
police force. Ian Glen is a veteran mandarin who, among other jobs,
headed the National Parole Board. Clarence Louie-Oliver is the
well-regarded chief of a B.C. Indian band. And Sharon Rosenfeldt,
whose son was one of the victims of serial killer Clifford Olsen, is a
co-founder of the group Victims of Violence.

There are plenty of problems in Canada's prisons, ranging from the
familiar - the need for more medical care for an aging population,
drug use, and a growing menace from gangs - to particular issues such
as labour matters in this unusual environment. And as always, there's
tension between the need to operate humanely, with rehabilitation as
the goal where possible, and the need to control spending. Nobody
wants to think prisoners are pampered.

The Conservatives promised to "review the operations of Correctional
Service Canada with a view to enhancing public safety" and that same
sensible goal has been given to the new committee, along with giving
crime victims a stronger voice - which seems rather vague in this
context - and improving staff conditions.

As always, however, financing will be an issue. The government has
already set aside $245 million over five years to cope with the
expected prison population boom, but crumbling old buildings, the need
for energy efficiency, and other issues might require much more money
for bricks and mortar. This review is necessary.