From first report in 2020, panel has stated that isolation placements routinely last more than 22 hours a day and stretch beyond 15 days
A corrections officer enters the cells area in the segregation unit at the Fraser Valley Institution for Women during a media tour, in Abbotsford, B.C., Oct. 26, 2017.More than five years after Ottawa passed legislation designed to abolish solitary confinement in penitentiaries, the practice persists throughout the federal prison system, according to an expert oversight panel.
The panel was created in 2019 to oversee prison reforms introduced in the wake of two successful lawsuits that challenged the legality of administrative segregation, a long-time Correctional Service of Canada practice under which prisoners could be held in cells the size of hotel bathrooms for upward of 22 hours a day without meaningful human contact.
SIUs were designed to circumvent international guidelines around solitary confinement. The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners defines solitary confinement as imprisonment for 22 or more hours a day without meaningful human interaction. If those conditions stretch beyond 15 days, the UN considers it “prolonged” solitary confinement, a practice that amounts to “torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
“Very few SIU prisoners get the benefit of four hours out of their cell every day, and even fewer get the benefit of two hours every day of meaningful human engagement,” said panel chair Howard Sapers in an interview. “These units were created because two courts of appeal in Canada found that the way CSC was utilizing isolated conditions of confinement was unconstitutional,” said Mr. Sapers. “They broke the law. And I can tell you from what we found on the panel, there are some serious concerns remaining about whether or not those issues identified by those courts have been properly addressed.”In a statement, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty thanked Mr.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Loneliness is as bad for you as smoking, research shows. But the stigma stops people getting helpA solitary woman looks out outside.
Read more »
Major Central Banks Deliver Biggest Policy Easing Push Since 2020Central banks worldwide have implemented their largest policy easing measures since the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2023, marking the biggest annual easing effort in 15 years. Five out of nine major central banks cut interest rates, with Switzerland and Canada implementing 50 basis point reductions. The Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and Sweden's Riksbank each lowered rates by 25 basis points. This aggressive easing comes amidst global uncertainty, particularly surrounding the incoming US administration's trade and economic policies.
Read more »
Biden's Candid Reflections on 2020 Election and Potential Second TermIn a recent interview, President Biden candidly discussed his decision to run for reelection despite previous reservations and the challenges posed by his age.
Read more »
New permit needed as of today for Canadians flying across the pondAir Canada flight leaving Charlottetown Airport, P.E.I. Taken January 2020.
Read more »
Rudy Giuliani held in contempt for repeating false claims about 2020 election workersJudge found that Giuliani violated a previous court agreement to stop making allegations of wrongdoing against the election workers
Read more »
On thin ice: Canadian speed skaters fear loss of ice at Calgary's Olympic OvalDrone shots of the Olympic Oval at the University of Calgary in December 2020.
Read more »