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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Policing and the criminal justice system
Regarding isolation for medical or mental health reasons
Recommendation 11: We recommend legislation require that isolation for medical purposes be authorized by independent registered health care professionals, with reasons provided to the prisoner and their legal representative.-
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Regarding isolation for medical or mental health reasons
Recommendation 12: We recommend that individuals placed in isolation for medical or mental health reasons must be offered at least four hours of meaningful human contact per day. If a prisoner’s mental health is poor or deteriorating, they should be provided additional opportunities for meaningful human contact. Prisoners should be offered daily time out of their cell including outdoors if medically safe. They should have regular and no-cost access to telephone and video visitation with family, community supports and legal representatives. Within their cells, they should have access to televisions and increased access to canteen and free snacks.-
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Regarding isolation for medical or mental health reasons
Recommendation 13: We recommend prisoners with serious mental illnesses be transferred to community-based psychiatric hospitals under s 29 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, where they can receive appropriate mental health treatment in a therapeutic environment.-
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Regarding isolation for medical or mental health reasons
Recommendation 14: We recommend that specialized Therapeutic Units address the unique needs of prisoners with mental health disabilities, and that they be adequately funded and sufficiently staffed with independent professionals including nurses, social workers, Elders, counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists as appropriate to provide robust and culturally appropriate treatment and high levels of meaningful human contact.-
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Regarding structured intervention units
Recommendation 16: We recommend that Canada institute legislative time limits of 15 continuous days in an SIU, with an annual limit of 30 days.-
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Regarding structured intervention units
Recommendation 17: We recommend that Canada amend legislation to ensure that conditions of confinement in SIUs do not constitute solitary confinement.-
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Regarding structured intervention units
Recommendation 18: We recommend that meaningful human contact be defined in policy, and that it be acknowledged that it must be meaningful to the individual.-
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Regarding structured intervention units
Recommendation 19: We recommend that all prisoners in an SIU have access to a television in their cell within one day.-
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Regarding structured intervention units
Recommendation 20: We recommend that governments fund legal aid to provide prisoners with legal representation in SIUs in each jurisdiction in Canada.-
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Regarding structured intervention units
Recommendation 21: To facilitate meaningful access to counsel, we recommend legislation or policy providing:- That outside agencies should be allowed to provide in-person legal aid clinics in SIUs on a regular basis.
- That CSC staff must deliver and facilitate all legal callback requests within 24 hours.
- That CSC must share relevant documentation directly with counsel at least three days in advance of all SIU reviews, without requiring a signed consent form.
- That outgoing faxes to counsel be provided to all prisoners free of charge and within one working day.
- That prisoners be provided sufficient time to meet with counsel in person, in a confidential room.
- That all necessary steps be taken to facilitate the attendance of counsel at hearings, including advising counsel of the time and date of the hearing as soon as it is scheduled and confirming requests by counsel to attend.
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