A recent Toronto Sun cover story and a publisher's letter written by Kathryn M. Lymburne in Senior Care Canada have spurred me to write this letter expressing my outrage and shock at the tremendous disparity between meal budgets for prisoners in our detention centres, jails and prisons versus the budget for patients in our long-term care facilities.

The article also made me stop and realize that this disparity extends well beyond meal budgets to fully encompass all aspects of life in these facilities. I should begin by emphasizing that I am not against the fair and humane treatment of prisoners or against prisoners' rights. What I am against is that these same rights don't seem to extend to those who have earned (and deserve) fair and hu-mane treatment - our seniors.

A quick synopsis: The Metro West Detention Centre in Toronto has a budget of $11.02 per inmate per day for meals and snacks, the University Health Network budgets $6.50 and long-term care facilities $5.57, recently raised to $7.00 by The Honourable George Smitherman. Can you imagine trying to provide three full meals, complete with beverages and dessert, plus snacks on $5.57 or even $7.00 per person per day? Does this budget allocation mean as Ontarians and Canadians we think our prisoners are more valuable than our seniors? Or are funds allocated based on those with the loudest voices? The majority of patients at these long-term care facilities don't have the ability to ex-press their outrage. I strongly believe that as Canadians, it is our moral obligation to speak for them.

While searching the Corrections Canada website for information on its food budgets, I came across an article in one of its newsletters¹ about a cooking program that has been introduced at Sainte-Anne-des?Plaines Institution in the Quebec Region. Offenders selected to participate have the option of taking a 390-hour cook's assistant course, a 435?hour butcher's assistant course, or a 450-hour course to become a baker's assistant. While a program like this is commendable and will provide job skills upon release, I was appalled to read further and learn that they are paid $6.90 per day and live in a separate unit. The next sentence indicated that this is comparable to what other offenders earn. These prisoners not only have a higher budget for meals but also earn the equivalent of the daily food budget for patients in long-term care facilities.

My mother has been a resident of a complex care hospital for the past two and a half years. I have witnessed first hand the quality of meals and the continual degradation of services. While the staff at this facility (and I believe the majority of staff at long-term care facilities across Ontario and Canada) is extremely dedicated and hard working, they are also overworked and under-resourced. They are to be commended for their devotion to their patients' care. It is not a career that I personally could ever do.

Our prisoners are provided with meals cooked on premise or ordered in from local restaurants. The meals provided at my mother's facility used to be prepared on site and approximately twice a month pizza or Chinese food was brought in to provide a special treat. Since my mother's facility was 'merged' with a local hospital (in order to save money, of course) the meals are now all frozen includ-ing the toast - just imagine eating frozen, then thawed, then reheated toast! There is no longer any money to provide special treats so there is no longer any pizza or Chinese food. I wonder what pris-oners would say about that? Do you think there would be protests or riots in prison if they were served reheated frozen food that included meat so tough you couldn't possibly chew it even if you were years younger and had all of your teeth?

The patients at my mother's facility are almost all bedridden or confined to wheelchairs. They have to be spoon-fed since physically they are unable to feed themselves. The majority are in diapers. These patients receive one bath a week. (At some facilities this has been increased to two, however, additional staff are not available to provide the extra bath). Do you think inmates get one bath or shower a week? What would happen if we cut the prison budget so they could only have one, or even two, baths/showers a week?

Since the complex care facility was 'merged' with the local hospital, further budget cuts have seen the demise of off-site trips for the patients. I guess these seniors can spend their days in their rooms or sitting in the hallway. There is no money to even plant a flower in the empty flower pots on the out-side deck, built and funded by volunteers. That doesn't matter, however, since there is no staff to push the wheelchairs outside so that the residents can enjoy a few minutes of fresh air and sunshine. The latest cutback eliminated maintenance staff on weekends and holidays. During a recent week-end the lights went out in one of the patient's room. Bad timing - the patient had to sit in the dark all weekend. Again, what do you think would happen if prisoners were treated this way?

This past summer patients sweltered in the heat while the "executive" of the hospital sat in air-conditioned offices. Sorry, no money for air-conditioning for the patients' rooms, even though there were humidex warnings and health advisories indicating that the elderly or infirm should stay inside in the cool. I wonder how our inmates survived the heat wave? Do you think our prisons and jails are air-conditioned?

The list of cutbacks could go on and on. I am citing examples from personal experience but I am confident that this institution is not unique. I have been in other long-term residences and have seen similar things happening.

I am sending this letter to local, provincial and federal politicians, including the Minister of Corrections Canada, and to various media outlets. I am hoping that the more people become aware of exactly what is happening to our senior "prisoners" they too will take the time to write to their politicians and express their outrage. The bottom line is: As Canadians, are our seniors less important than our prisoners (and make no mistake they are OUR seniors)? Do they not deserve, at the very minimum, equivalent treatment and rights as those that are being punished? I ask you what was their crime? I sure know what their punishment is.

¹ Let's Talk, v. 30, no. 3
Helen O'Kane, Hartington, Ontario