Unfortunately, his victim could not be reached for comment, but we assume that they will not be exercising any of their Charter rights anytime soon

Yahoo News is reporting that over 35,000 federal and provincial prison inmates are eligible to vote on January 23. A convicted murderer won the right to vote in 2002 after the Supreme Court cited the murderer's Charter rights in striking down the section of the Elections Act which prohibited inmates from being given the opportunity to cast a ballot.

From the article:

The court said voting could teach inmates democratic values and social responsibility.

Shane Shoemaker, serving a life sentence for first-degree murder at Edmonton Institution, agrees.

He and other inmates at the maximum-security prison have been following the campaign on TV in their cells. There are no election posters on the walls. No candidates have come to door-knock.

"Most guys in prison feel like outcasts. Voting is kind of a big thing," says Shoemaker, 30, who hails from Calgary.

"You feel like you are contributing to society."

Shoemaker, who is into the eighth year of his sentence, says most inmates plan to vote for any party other than the Conservatives.

Prisoners fear the Tories want to make life in prison harsher by taking away comforts such as televisions and stereos, he says. They also believe the Conservatives want to strip them of their right to vote.

"We live in a volatile environment and if they start taking these things away from us, it will just create more problems and tensions."

More:

The Liberals and NDP say they can live with the high court's decision.

The Conservatives say they don't have an official policy, but would favour a constitutional amendment to ban voting by federal prison inmates.

Tory justice critic Vic Toews says Canadians have told him on the campaign trail that they don't believe federal prisoners should have the right to vote.

"What they say to me is that it is wrong that these individuals who have broken their obligations to society are now entitled to have the same voice in society," Toews says.