Ottawa, ON (unceded Algonquin Anishnaabeg Territory) – Today, Joey Toutsaint, an Indigenous person in federal custody, asked the Supreme Court of Canada to hear his case about unethical health care in prisons.

Mr. Toutsaint has been in federal prison for most of his adult life and has spent more than 2,000 days in segregation. In March 2019, a nurse went to Mr. Toutsaint’s cell door to give him medication, and when she refused to show him the empty medication packet, he swore at her and threatened to self-harm. The nurse then initiated a disciplinary charge against him, which could have resulted in up to thirty days of segregation as a penalty.

Mr. Toutsaint made a complaint to the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses’ Association (SNRA), arguing that the nurse violated her ethical duties to act in the best interest of her patient and to not participate in punitive measures. The SRNA dismissed the complaint without addressing the core health ethics questions it raised about the nurse’s role as a disciplinarian. The Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench and Court of Appeal both dismissed Mr. Toutsaint’s case. He is now asking the Supreme Court of Canada to hear his appeal.

Mr. Toutsaint states: “Everyone, including people in prison, deserves respectful and ethical health care. How can I trust my health care providers if they are involved in punishing me?”

Pierre Hawkins, counsel for Mr. Toutsaint, states: “People in federal prisons are excluded from universal health care. Instead, their health care is provided by Correctional Service Canada, the same agency that incarcerates them. Given the dual loyalties of prison health care providers, people in prison face a unique and serious risk of receiving unethical health care.”

Dr. Martha Paynter, Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of New Brunswick and the Director of Research for Wellness Within, states: “As nurses, we have an ethical duty to put our patients’ interests first. We must recognize the inherent harm of prison environments, the extreme stress prisoners experience, and do everything in our power to alleviate patient suffering and promote wellbeing. In general, nursing school curricula inadequately address the danger of dual loyalty in prison workplaces, and nurses are underinformed about their ethical obligations in these spaces. This case is an important teaching moment for the profession.”

Dr. Ruth Elwood Martin, Clinical Professor Emerita in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, states: “Health care providers working in prisons need support to provide trauma-informed, culturally safe and ethical care. And, as this case shows, health care regulators must not abdicate their duty to address important questions about health care ethics in prisons.”

Jessica Magonet, counsel for Mr. Toutsaint, states: “This case demonstrates the critical need for health services in prisons to be administered independently by health authorities. As long as prisons are in charge of health care, professional independence and ethics will be compromised.”

Mr. Toutsaint is represented in this litigation by Pierre Hawkins of the John Howard Society of Saskatchewan and Jessica Magonet of Prisoners’ Legal Services.

You learn more about Mr. Toutsaint’s experience in federal prison here: https://www.aptnnews.ca/ourstories/insidecorrections/

You can read Mr. Toutsaint’s leave application here.

Media Contacts:
• Jessica Magonet, counsel for Mr. Toutsaint, at jmagonet@pls-bc.ca or 604-636-0470
• Pierre Hawkins, counsel for Mr. Toutsaint, at phawkins@sk.johnhoward.ca or 306-551-5605
• Martha Paynter, Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of New Brunswick and the Director of Research for Wellness Within, at martha.paynter@gmail.com or 902-292-7082