OPINIONS
18 | March 27, 2019
ultravires.ca
How to Reform the Prison System And break free of debt REBECCA BARCLAY NGUINAMBAYE (1L) Would you like to reform Ontario’s criminal justice system while transferring $45 million annually to expenses like education, housing and social services? This might sound a little idealistic and simplistic, but it is in fact a possibility that we as Law students can help realize with little effort. I f irst learned about the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project (CPEP) on March 15, 2019, while attending the “Detained: From Protecting Prisoners to Abolishing Prisons” conference at Osgoode Hall Law School. The event explored the diff iculty of moving toward abolition and avoiding inadvertently strengthening the carceral system through critical reform. CPEP believes the f irst step is a moratorium on prison expansion. Its mandate is to carry out public education initiatives and research on criminological issues, with a specif ic focus on the injustices of Canada’s carceral system. Currently, they have a petition called #NOPE— No On Prison Expansion, to protest the replacement and expansion of the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. CPEP spokesperson Justin Piché has crunched the numbers and determined that the proposed new prison would cost $11 million more annually than the current facility. His estimate, based on Infrastructure Ontario’s projected budget for construction, design, and maintenance, is that around $45 million per year will be spent on the prison. Piché
identif ied all the social services that have deaths were due to factors such as lack of cabeen cut by the Ford government while this pacity in hospitals and lack of sensitivity prison expansion was approved, and chal- training for guards. A prison expansion does lenged everyone at the conference to consider nothing to address these issues and will simply how the $45 million could be used to better allow the government to forestall its response. serve communities and the province. He In fact, former Minister of Community Safety prompted all the law students in the room to and Correctional Services, Yasir Naqvi, has ask the Ford government to divert some to said that an expansion would fail taxpayers. The OCDC is in a decrepit state and in funding OSAP. Some will wonder about the very real issue need of substantial repairs. Yet, this presents an opportunity to rethink of overcrowding in prisons. how we criminalize indiWhile increasing the numviduals. Maybe by now ber of prison cells in the Ultimately, we should we can admit that putprovince is a short term soting people in cages and lution, it does not address demand appropriate segregation, in spaces the real causes of prison social services for all, without access to proper overcrowding. 70% of inand more funding for health care or support carcerated individuals on from loved ones, is not any given day are actually education, including the solution of a twentyin pre-trial detention, not our own. f irst-century society. necessarily waiting on a Maybe we can get serious conviction that will reabout turning toward quire more incarceration. We do not need more beds, we need eff icient harm reduction and Gladue principles and and judicially fair processes to deal with the addressing ‘deviant’ behaviour with empathy, backlog of cases. We also need to address the rather than condemnation. Maybe we can be criminalization of poverty and mental health honest about the fact that the disproportionwhich incarcerates people who need treat- ate incarceration of poor and marginalized ment or social assistance more than, and as individuals ref lects larger systemic issues of inequality and inequity—issues that cannot alternatives to, rehabilitation. Just last year, on separate occasions, two be f ixed by locking individuals away for years men who were denied proper and timely psy- in concrete boxes. Ultimately, we should demand appropriate chiatric care died by suicide at OCDC. Their
social services for all, and more funding for education, including our own. Please join with me in writing to Premier Doug Ford and demanding #NOPE No Ontario Prison Expansion, because that $45 million annually would be better used in part to fund our education to get us into the courtrooms working for justice. If you would like to know more about CPEP, their petition, and problems with the Ontario criminal justice system, please explore the below links: CPEP: http://cp-ep.org/. Piché’s Calculations: http://tpcp-canada. blogspot.com/2018/09/small-government-inontario-under.html Toronto South Detention Centre: https://torontolife.com/city/inside-torontosouth-detention-centre-torontos-1-billionhellhole/ Contact Premier Ford and tell him: #NOPE / No Ottawa Prison Expansion #YESS / Yes to Education and Social Services Phone: 416-325-1941 Tweet: @fordnation Write: Premier of Ontario, Legislative Building, Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON M7A 1A3.
Food for Thought
A hearty mac ‘n’ cheese for the weary
TOM COLLINS (2L) It is that time of year again. The days are getting longer, not just because the sun is up later, but because you probably are as well. You need some good food to keep you going. I am here to help. Macaroni and cheese is probably a staple in many a student’s diet. And so it should be! It is versatile, quick to prepare, filling, and ever so cozy. But I would like to think that my particular take on it is just that little bit better. My secret? A hint of garlic. Before getting into the preparation, I want to emphasize just how versatile this dish is. You can use any cheese you like; you can use more or less milk depending on how thick you like the sauce; you don’t even have to bake the dish! It also serves very well just as macaroni with cheese sauce. The main benefit to baking it is that it is easier to store and reheat. Macaroni and Cheese à la Tom Total preparation time is about 40 minutes and the recipe serves 4-6 depending on portion sizes.
Ingredients 3 cups dry macaroni 1 ½ cups milk (I use 3.8%) 1 cup cheese grated (I suggest 2/3 cup extra old cheddar, 1/3 cup gruyere or emmental) 1/3 cup Parmesan grated 1 handful of plain breadcrumbs 3 Tbsp butter 3 Tbsp all-purpose f lour 1/8 tsp mustard powder 1 garlic clove finely chopped Salt Procedure 1. Set oven to broil. 2. Boil large pot of salted water for macaroni. 3. While water heats, make cheese sauce. You want to finish this before the macaroni is done cooking.
4. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt 3 Tbsp butter over medium-high heat.
11. If your water has boiled, now is the time to add the macaroni.
5. While butter is melting, chop garlic clove. Add to butter and reduce heat to medium low, stirring regularly to prevent from browning.
12. While macaroni cooks, grate 1 cup of cheese into the sauce and stir it in to melt. If needed, place the saucepan on very low heat, remembering to stir.
6. Add 3 Tbsp f lour to the saucepan and stir well to combine with butter.
13. Add 1/8 tsp mustard powder and salt to taste.
7. Slowly pour in 1 ½ cups of milk, stirring as you go, to prevent clumping. A small whisk can be useful, here, but a wooden spoon will do fine.
14. Butter an 8” x 8” x 3” (or equivalent volume) glass casserole dish.
8. Turn heat to high and continue stirring sauce at between 90 and 120 rpm, to ensure it does not burn.
16. Pour cheese sauce over macaroni and stir to coat evenly. Add more milk if needed.
9. When sauce begins to bubble, reduce heat to medium and stir quickly for two minutes. The sauce should continue to bubble relatively vigorously as it cooks, but it must not be left to sit in the pan, because it will burn and become lumpy. 10. After two minutes, remove sauce from heat, and cover with lid.
15. When macaroni is al dente, drain and add to casserole dish.
17. After spreading the macaroni evenly in the dish, dust the top with bread crumbs. Then grate Parmesan on top. 18. Place dish under broiler until the top just begins to turn golden brown. Then remove from oven and serve. 19. Pair with a dry rosé or a sauvignon blanc.
