Prisons fail to serve the mentally ill, reader suggests
LETTERS
I’m writing to express my concern with how Canada’s prison system is dealing with mental illness. Between 1997 and 2008, the number of offenders in need of mental health care doubled. Incidents of self injury in prisons increased by 236 per cent in the last seven years.
The government isn’t doing its job to help solve this problem.
These inmates aren’t getting the care they need to be healthy or to reintegrate into society.
One-third of psychologist jobs in Canadian prisons are vacant or under-filled, and a 2009 report said B.C. was in need of more than double the psychiatric beds available in prisons.
If mentally ill inmates were relocated to psychiatric hospitals or other institutions for mentally ill citizens, they would get the help they need and there would be no more overcrowding in prisons.
Given that only 26 per cent of B.C. prisoners with mental disorders are unrelated to substance abuse, the lack of intervention drug programs and treatments in prisons is contributing to both substance abuse and mental health problems. Brenna Andrews, Victoria
Stop complaining, suck it up
Re: Battle for gender equity not yet won: Clark, Oct. 14
Christy Clark is correct to say that gender equality in the workplace is a long way off. While Rob Shaw’s article focuses on the more prestigious business world, it misses the many dirty, gritty and dangerous occupations generally held by men.
According to WorkSafeBC, men account for 63 per cent of workplace injuries occurring more frequently in fields such as construction, transportation and forestry. Sun columnist Douglas Todd has written stories about the disproportionate number of men killed in the workplace — I believe the statistic is about 90 per cent.
If gender equality is a goal of our society, it means accepting the consequences with the rewards.
I didn’t see any encouragement in Shaw’s article for women to enter these more dangerous fields of employment.
I suggest that if our society wants to instil a good work ethic in our young women, they should be told the same things we tell our young men when they enter the workforce: Stop complaining, and suck it up. Peter Lenko, Langley
No to electoral reform
Many say we need to change our way of electing provincial and federal representatives. Hogwash. At provincial and federal elections, vote for the party you want. Too many vote not for their preferred choice, but the candidate they believe has the best chance to keep one party out of government. If voters voted for who they prefer you would see, in most cases, minority governments provincially and federally. Minority governments work well because the elected government must listen and work as a team with opposition parties. More Green party MLAs and MPs would be elected. Electoral reform is a waste of time and it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars to hold a referendum on the issue. Mark your ballot for the party you want to see win a seat in government, and stop the protest voting. Joe Sawchuk, Duncan