On December 10, 2011, several hundred protesters marched from St James park, the past site of Occupy Toronto, to the Don Jail in order to express their hatred of prisons and our contempt for the "Criminal (In)Justice System".

From the call out:

Harper's Crime Bill is an attempt to lock more of us away for petty crimes- to fill Canadian jails with drug users and people struggling with mental health issues.

The current and ongoing expansion of the prison industrial complex touches our lives every day-- from increases in street cops and surveillance to the overcrowding of prisons, and the further criminalization of poverty and targeting of marginalized communities.

The global capitalist economy is failing, and the environmental crisis is ongoing and everywhere. Increased policing and criminalization is an austerity strategy that will inevitably result in more of our friends and family members being locked away, more government money spent on policing and prisons, and the closures of community programs and schools.

The Canadian State is on a path towards US-style super-max isolation prisons and increased solitary confinement. There are plans for dozens of new prisons equipped with state-of-the-art security systems to further isolate prisoners from the outside world. The consequences to us and to our communities are dire; if the Crime Bill is passed, it will impose mandatory minimum sentences on various non-violent crimes, including simple drug possession (6 months in jail for 6 pot plants) and make it harder to get time-served or parole.

Inspired by the global struggle against the capitalist elite and their 
vicious program of austerity, we choose to resist.

In solidarity with all prisoners and exploited peoples struggling for 
freedom locally and globally.

In solidarity with indigenous peoples of this land, who face continued assault by the Criminal (In)justice System.

Against the current prison conditions of abuse and torture that only increase the violence in our communities.

"This is Just the Beginning" says Rob Nicholson the Justice Minister, 
referencing tough crime bills.

We couldn't agree more.

- Prison is Class War -