Corrections officials disclosed the figures for two Ontario jails — the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre and the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay — in a case against the province recently settled before the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
At the two jails, inmates in segregation daily averaged about 7 per cent of the prison population during the five months.
“This data is simply shocking given all that we know about the significant harmful effects of solitary confinement on individuals,” said lawyer Paul Champ, who argued the case.
“Clearly, correctional authorities across the province are not getting the message that segregation is a very harmful tool that should be used only in exceptional circumstances.”
The disclosure also revealed that in the 12 months beginning in September 2014, six female inmates at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre were held in solitary confinement for more than 30 straight days and two female inmates were held for more than 60 straight days.
“Thirty days in segregation is cruel and inhumane treatment in international law,” Champ said. “It should be a serious concern to everyone.”
Champ represented Christina Jahn of Smiths Falls, Ont., who argued the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services contravened the terms of her landmark 2013 human rights settlement by failing to distribute a one-page handout informing inmates admitted to solitary of their rights.
In her original complaint, Jahn alleged she was held in segregation for 210 total days at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, where she experienced “brutal and humiliating treatment,” was beaten, deprived of basic hygiene privileges and denied access to treatment for mental illness and cancer medication.
As part of her settlement, the ministry committed to changes meant to better meet the mental health needs of inmates, including the handout promise. That remedy was of “deep personal importance” to Jahn, her application stressed, because she was never informed of her rights during her seven months in solitary.
The ministry agreed to settle the handout complaint. Some of the terms are confidential, but Jahn’s lawyer said she insisted the segregation data be made public. Jahn, who is still receiving treatment for cancer, is not accepting interview requests.
Champ said the data confirm solitary confinement is routine in Ontario. He said he has nothing to compare the five-month data to because the ministry did not begin aggregating statistics on prisoners in solitary until April 2015.
“That really explains a lot about the cavalier attitude some ministry officials have.”
Champ acknowledged it will be difficult to change entrenched attitudes and said the review the ministry has committed to is a “welcome first step.”
The ministry hopes to complete the review by the end of the year. The Ontario Human Rights Commission made a public call on Monday for the province to end the use of solitary confinement. In an email to the Star on Monday, a spokesman for the minister, Jonathan Rose, said the government is aware of the negative impacts of segregation and “committed to making the changes necessary to ensure inmates have all the necessary and proper supports in place.”
Rose said the ministry welcomed the rights commission’s input as part of its segregation review, which is looking at policies and best practices in other jurisdictions.
The ministry made several commitments as part of the new settlement, including monitoring of the handout distribution and posting signs in segregation units informing inmates of their right to the one-page handout.
“The ministry has taken steps to ensure that inmates are provided with information related to their rights while in segregation,” Lauren Callighen, a spokeswoman for Naqvi, said in a statement. “We acknowledge that early on, there were challenges with respect to the documentation of this, and that while the information handout was being provided to inmates, this action was not being appropriately documented.
“All staff have been reminded of the requirement to both distribute the handout and document that the distribution took place, and senior management continue to monitor to ensure compliance.”
Callighen said the results of the last audit in December 2015 showed the ministry was in full compliance with the handout requirement.
Original Article
Source: thestar.com/
Author: Amy Dempsey
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