The Manitoba Government has recently implemented a private phone system and canteen system provided by the Texas Firm, Synergy Inmate Phones in all provincial jails.

As a result, people incarcerated in places like Headingley Correctional Center or Women's Correctional Centre now pay exorbitant rates for phone calls that until now have been cost-free up to 90 minutes a day.

Charging inmates exorbitant rates to call loved ones from jail could hinder their chances for rehabilitation and make it more difficult for them to reintegrate into society.

While conversations with lawyers and some social services agencies are exempt from the new fees, many people's most important communication in with their children, parents, siblings, and friends.
Those calls are now charged at a rate of $3 for 15 minutes, or $18 per day for the hour-and-a-half people have been allotted in the past. Deposits to phone cards are also subject to additional fees and taxes, leaving families with just $88 of talking time on every $100 spent.

While Synergy Inmate Phones gets rich off providing a services that's becoming cheaper and cheaper for the general public with every passing year, people in jail are further cut off and isolated their families

The privatization of prison phones will mean that many people won’t be able to speak to their incarcerated family members at all.

Research shows that staying connected with friends and family is one of the best predictors of a successful return to the community for people in jail. Depriving intimates of this will not only increase re-incarceration rates, it will severely impact the mental health of thousands of inmates and their loved ones.

If we can afford to put thousands of people in jail, then we can certainly afford to provide this important service while they are there.

We are demanding that Minister of Justice and Attorney General Heather Stefanson reinstate free phone services immediately.