New documentary offers rare glimpse inside Ontario women’s prison

Canadian media are rarely allowed inside prisons, especially for extended periods of time, but Citytv was granted unprecedented access over the past few months to the Grand Valley Institution for Women, spending about two weeks with the inmates and staff that live and work in the multi-security-level prison in Kitchener, ON.

It’s one of only five prisons for women in Canada, and home to some of Canada’s most notorious killers, including Terri-Lynne McClintic, who is serving a life sentence for murdering 8-year-old Victoria Stafford in 2009 and Jennifer Pan, convicted of a kill-for-hire attack on her parents.

But if you were expecting hard time and rough conditions for these convicted child killers, that’s not quite the environment at Grand Valley.

“It really doesn’t feel like a prison in many respects. I mean, yes, there were security features and barbed wires, and you have to go through screening to get in,” noted reporter and producer Cristina Howorun as she took a tour of the grounds. “I didn’t expect the inmates to have this level of freedom, even in the medium security area where you see them, you know, wearing the clothes that they choose, walking around (the outdoor ground), they’re making whatever meals they choose because they’re in charge of their groceries and what they’re about to eat.”

There is a lot less barbed wire and a lot more “white picket fences and picnic tables and gardens,” than one might expect.

“It’s just a lot of freedom. A lot of freedom that I don’t think you would see in many other countries in their prisons.”

Like a school campus, women live in houses with inmates attending programs, courses, and jobs.

That is because a lot of the time spent serving is focused on reintegration, getting women prepared for life on the outside. Sometimes that is through learning new skills and sometimes it’s through building new bonds.

Faye Higgins was serving a life sentence for murder but was granted day parole earlier this month.

She credits small glimpses of normalcy, of freedom, of family connection, with helping her prepare her for life after prison

“They just kind of grow on you, right? It’s about your energy and how you deal with that every day and how you deal with situations here in the prison on a daily basis,” said Higgins.

“Are you going to freak out, start fighting, right? Or are you going to, you know, brush it off?” she added. “It helps me do that, brush off a lot of things and to be calm, to be at peace. That took me a while.”

She also credits her children and grandchildren as a great motivator to be better on the outside. “All my children, my grandchildren and I’m grateful. I’m grateful to have that. My reconnection with my daughter, too …That’s a huge, huge motivator for me.”

It’s a scenario familiar for many inmates at Grand Valley. A new documentary is exploring the relationship between incarcerated mothers and their children as they parent behind bars.

“VeraCity: Prison Moms” airs Sunday, May 28 at 10 p.m./9 p.m. CT only on Citytv.