KEMPTVILLE — Colleen Lynas with the Coalition Against the Proposed Prison (CAPP) and Kirk Albert with the Jail Opposition Group (JOG) will present at North Grenville’s Municipal Council meeting this evening, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. They say their delegation will include information received through a request submitted to the Ministry of the Solicitor General (SolGen) under the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
“Unfortunately, the results confirm what we have known all along, that secrecy and a lack of transparency have dominated the provincial government’s behaviour surrounding the planned prison,” Albert claimed.
The pair will also use the opportunity to respond to council’s recent statement regarding the proposed Kemptville prison. In preparation for their joint delegation, questions for both the municipality and SolGen were submitted to the municipality’s Director of Legislative Services. “Council’s statement and the Deputy Solicitor General’s letter that preceded it did touch on some of the questions asked but failed to provide the detail and clarity sought,” Albert added.
“As hard as it may be for some in the community to acknowledge, the sad truth is that our mayor and council continue to work hand in glove with the province to make this prison a reality, and in doing so have failed to prioritize the well-being and interests of the municipality,” Lynas said. “However disappointing, this only strengthens our resolve.”
The full access to information release package will be posted on CAPP’s website – www.cappkemptville.ca – immediately following tonight’s presentation.
The delegation falls a day before CAPP’s third Zoom public information session, “Saving the Kemptville College Farm, Alternatives to the Proposed Prison,” beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 23, 2021.
That event’s three speakers will discuss the environmental, health and economic imperatives to preserve Ontario’s farmland:
- Phil Mount, Associate Director, Just Food (Ottawa) and Adjunct Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
- Emma Jane Woods, Farmland Ecology Coordinator, Ontario Farmland Trust
- Dr. Ralph Martin, Professor (retired), Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph and Founding Director, Organic Agricultural Centre of Canada
The evening will also include a discussion of the previous night’s council meeting.
