INK THINK

The question isn't whether or not Public Safety Minister Stockwell
Day did the right thing yesterday in announcing the end of a
taxpayer-funded tattoo program for federal prisoners.

What many Canadians are far more likely to be asking is what on Earth
was a previous government thinking when it approved the pilot project
at six federal prisons in the first place?

The rationale was that cons put one another at risk of contracting a
deadly disease when they reuse tattooing needles to give themselves a
little body art to wile away the time while they're inside.

Since we're not aware of any constitutional right to acquire a tattoo
in prison, we'd have thought the reasonable way to reduce the spread
of AIDS and hepatitis C would be to tell the cons to wait until
they're back on the street before ordering up their tats.

That, however, might not have been popular with prisoners who have
become increasingly used to dictating the terms of their
incarceration. We've seen the riots that break out when dinner's late
or not up to snuff or when television rights are taken away.

So if you can't just say no to the cons, apparently the thinking
went, maybe it would be best to set them up with clean rooms,
sanitary supplies and even a smidgen of training so they could
perfect their art form.

We've seen that kind of rationale before, of course, in the
establishment of safe injection sites -- including one here in Ottawa
- -- where drug addicts are handed clean equipment with which to pump
illegal substances into their veins or their lungs. Apparently being
a junkie is okay, as long as your health isn't put at risk.

The prison tattoo program cost the taxpayers of Canada $350,000 in
start-up costs and another $600,000 in annual operating costs at the
six prisons where it was being offered before it was put on hold at
the end of September.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation estimates the annual cost to expand
the program to all 58 federal correctional facilities at $5.8
million, plus $2.6 million in one-time start-up costs.

CTF federal director JohnWilliamson calls the program "a prime
example of goofy government spending" and says Day did the right
thing today by terminating it.

We're inclined to agree, and remind prisoners' rights advocates who
will argue the opposite that jail shouldn't be considered a lifestyle choice.