August 10th: ALL OUT FOR PRISONERS JUSTICE DAY!

August 10th is Prisoners’ Justice Day, a day in remembrance of all of those who have died at the hands of the prison system. Prisoners fast and refuse work on this day, while outside the walls organizations and individuals demonstrate in solidarity. We want a world without prisons, and will resist their expansion any day of the year, but it would be especially offensive to see cranes, trucks, and workers expanding the prison on August 10th while prisoners are on strike inside.

We invite you to join us early in the morning on August 10th to shut down construction at Collins Bay Penitentiary in honour of Prisoners’ Justice Day. This will also mark the two-year anniversary of the Prison Farms blockade at the same location, a historic mobilization for Kingston.

If you don’t live in Kingston and want to come, or if you do live in Kingston and can offer billeting, get in contact with us and we will co-ordinate lodgings with you. Our email is epic [at] riseup [dot] net

Keep your eye on http://endthepic.wordpress.com/pjd for updates.

Please circulate widely – see you August 10th!

 

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EPIC mailing address

End the Prison Industrial Complex now has a snail mail address!

Write us at:

EPIC
Suite #409, 427 Princess Street
Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 5S9

Of course, you can always reach us by email at epic [at] riseup [dot] net (PGP-enabled)

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Collins Bay Construction Update

Likely due to a warm winter, construction on the new building CBB11 at Collins Bay began in early 2012. We know that — at the least — excavation, paving and foundation are all underway. A crane is also on site.

There is also a major limestone restoration project led by Limen Restoration occuring simultaneously on the exterior walls, and the Portsmouth Community Correctional Centre is under construction to the east of the site.

We have identified five subcontractors that are currently working on the Collins Bay building, and have updated our profiteers listing. We are always interested in receiving more information, and are specifically looking to find out the electrical and mechanical contractors at Collins Bay.

Please send any and all tips to epic [at] riseup.net … thanks!

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June 21st: Mohammad Reza Hedayat Speaking Tour

End the Prison Industrial Complex, AKA and No One Is Illegal (Kingston) present:

Mohammad Reza Hedayat Speaking Tour
June 21st, 2012 at 7pm
AKA (75 Queen Street), wheelchair accessible
Chilcare available – please contact epic [at] riseup.net

Mohammad Reza Hedyat was arrested at an anti-racist demonstration in Toronto in January 2011. He was given trumped-up charges including aggravated assault and while in police custody was beaten and hospitalized. He has been on strict bail conditions including house arrest since, and has had his Canadian citizenship process suspended. If convicted, Mohammad is facing possible deportation to Iran.

On June 21st at AKA, Mohammad speaks about his arrest, police violence, prison, and his struggles with the immigration system to garner support before his trial commences on July 4th.

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June 12th: Kingston Penitentiary – Abolitionist Perspectives

End the Prison Industrial Complex Presents…
Kingston Penitentiary: Abolitionist Perspectives

June 12th, 2012 at 6:30pm
Kingston Public Library (130 Johnson St), Wilson Room
Free event, everyone welcome

Discussion presented by End the Prison Industrial Complex, with panelists on:
-the history of Kingston Pen,
-lessons from the closing of the disgraced Prison for Women, and
-the implications of the closure for prisoners and prison abolitionists.

For more information, contact epic [at] riseup.net

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August 10th: Come to Kingston this Prisoners’ Justice Day!

Come to Kingston this Prisoners’ Justice Day!

PJD is an international day to remember those who have died in prisons, during which prisoners around the world refuse work and food.

Kingston has long been the centre of the prison industrial complex in so-called Canada. As the government continues to push forward an agenda of prison expansion following the passage of Bill C-10, construction is already underway on new units at Collins Bay, Millhaven, and Bath Institutions.

This August 10th, join us in Kingston to mark PJD.

Stay tuned for more information at http://www.endthepic.wordpress.com/pjd

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May 15th: Mohammad Mahjoub Speaking Tour in Kingston

THE TWELVE YEAR TOUR

Mohammad Mahjoub on speaking tour
Tuesday May 15th, 6:30pm
Wilson Room, KFPL, 130 Johnson Street

*Ottawa–Montreal–Kingston–Guelph–London–Kitchener-Waterloo–Toronto*

For almost twelve long years, Mohammad Mahjoub, a torture survivor, has been detained without charge in Canada. He was held for lengthy periods in solitary confinement and later under house arrest. All on the basis of secret information which the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has admitted was likely obtained under torture. Now, for the first time in twelve years, Mr. Mahjoub is permitted to travel outside Toronto.

Mr. Mahjoub is one of five Muslim men who have been struggling for justice in Canada against so-called security certificates. Security certificates allow the government to indefinitely detain or deport people on the basis of their profile. He will tell his story in a seven-city speaking tour, as the Justice for Mahjoub Network gears up for a day of protest to mark the 12th anniversary of his arrest on June 26th.

Kingston’s event is sponsored by:
No One Is Illegal Kingston, OPIRG Kingston, PSAC Local 901, Levana Gender Advocacy Centre, End the Prison Industrial Complex, Peace Kingston and CFRC 101.9FM.

For more information about the Kingston stop please contact noiik@riseup.net

** More on Mahjoub: www.supportmahjoub.org/background/summary-2/
** Security certificates: www.supportmahjoub.org/background/security-certificates/

The Twelve Year Tour is supported by:
CAIR-CAN, www.caircan.ca
Canadian Labour Congress, www.clc-ctc.ca
International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, www.iclmg.ca
No One Is Illegal (London, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver – Coast Salish Territories),www.nooneisillegal.org
Prism Magazine, http://prism-magazine.com/

MORE INFO:

Justice for Mahjoub Network
WEB: www.supportmahjoub.org
EMAIL: justiceformahjoub@gmail.com
FB: www.facebook.com/SupportMahjoub

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Noise Demo Workshop @ The Artel, April 23rd 7-9pm

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Prison Privatization Article

Posted below is a letter to the editor published in the Whig-Standard on March 9, 2012. We couldn’t find an online version of it so scanned and re-posted it here because it sheds some light on the private prison lobby in Canada. Apologies that a bit of the text was cut off.

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Cryptome Publishes Blueprints for New Prisons

Construction drawings and specifications for new prisons at Collins Bay, Bath, Millhaven, and Stony Mountain institutions were published on March 8, 2012 by the leaks website Cryptome.

This comes shortly after a CBC Report revealing that blueprints for Collins Bay Institution show provisions for permanent double-bunking cells.

View and Download the Blueprints Here

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