In November 2020, “Solitary by another name: The ongoing use of isolation in Canada’s federal prisons” was published by the West Coast Prison Justice Society / Prisoners’ Legal Services. The report identifies ways that the Correctional Service Canada (CSC) continues to routinely keep prisoners in solitary confinement, or solitary-like conditions of isolation, sometimes for months on end, despite Canada’s claims to have eliminated the use of segregation. It recommends legislative limits on the use of isolation, care in community-based hospitals for prisoners with serious mental illnesses and increased funding for Indigenous-run healing lodges, and calls for an external review of staff culture at all levels.
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Health, wellness and services
Regarding lockdowns
Recommendation 9: We recommend that health care and Indigenous healing services be provided to prisoners independently of CSC, and that these professionals provide activities and counselling to prisoners during a lockdown, particularly for prisoners with pre-existing mental health disabilities.-
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- Alternative solutions ,
- Corrections ,
- Culture and language ,
- Decolonization and Indigenous rights ,
- Emergency response ,
- Health ,
- Health, wellness and services ,
- Indigenous issues in policing and justice ,
- Mental health and detention ,
- Policing and the criminal justice system ,
- Poverty and economic inequality ,
- Public services
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Regarding structured intervention units
Recommendation 24: We recommend Canada significantly increase funding for Indigenous-run healing lodges and allow Indigenous communities to determine eligibility, in order to address the overrepresentation of Indigenous prisoners in SIU and in maximum security.-
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Regarding structured intervention units
Recommendation 27: We recommend legislative amendments to provide Independent External Decision Makers the power to order independent medical and mental health assessments, including culturally appropriate assessments for Indigenous and other racialized prisoners.-
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