Convicted murderer and McGill law student wants inmates unionized — their pay has been stuck at $6.90 per day since 1981

Until recently, deductions for food, accommodation and phone administration took 30% off the top — meaning inmates take home about 46 cents per hour worked, according to OCI estimates. However, Ottawa recently waived the deductions (an indefinite pause), and this change is worth roughly $425 a year per inmate on average, according to Public Safety Canada.

Still, deductions and costs still exist for each inmate. For instance, there are mandatory savings, an inmate welfare fund fee and court-ordered deductions that still apply. Plus inmates buy many of their own basics, such as hygiene products and food to supplement meals, at regular retail prices.

Why is Ewert pushing for increased inmate pay?

As President of the Canadian Prisoners’ Labour Confederation (CPLC), an advocacy group seeking collective bargaining rights for incarcerated workers, Ewert is pushing for better pay for inmates working in correctional facilities across Canada.

In October 2024, the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board, the tribunal that oversees labour relations in the federal public service, ruled that inmates aren’t “employees” under federal public-sector labour law. It did agree, however, that it can hear the group’s Charter challenge to that exclusion.

The push to increase inmate pay is primarily due to the the erosion in purchasing power from the years of no pay increases. As the OCI notes, prison pay has never been tied to the consumer price index (CPI), even though CPI has climbed more than 225% since the 1980s. Using Bank of Canada inflation estimates, the watchdog calculated that the $6.90 top rate would equal about $22.50 in 2023 dollars. That works out to roughly $3.75 an hour on a six-hour workday.

In other words, the top prison pay rate today buys less than one-third of what the same dollar amount bought in 1981.

Compare that to the federal minimum wage rate, which rises every April 1 based on the previous year’s CPI. This year, it reached $18.15 an hour.

Whether or not incarcerated workers ever gain bargaining rights, a 45-year wage freeze starkly illustrates how inflation erodes purchasing power over time. It reinforces the central argument for indexing income to inflation, which, as Ottawa notes regarding the federal minimum wage, provides workers with “greater certainty and security.”