Prisoners’ Legal Services is looking for passionate, problem solving, empathetic and dedicated advocates for the rights of people in prison.
We are a small non-profit society providing legal services to people in federal and provincial prison in the province of British Columbia.
The legal advocate position involves providing advocacy regarding prison legal issues involving liberty rights, health care and human rights. This work is primarily done by telephone, fax and email. Advocacy on behalf of people in prison may involve summary advice, informal advocacy, providing written submissions and personal representation at tribunals.
Legal advocates have conduct of client files and are responsible for ensuring day-to-day tasks are scheduled and performed within relevant timeframes. The job involves reviewing and determining the legal merit of cases and determining the level of service to be provided. Legal advocates work under the supervision of a lawyer.
Legal advocates have a great deal of contact with people in prison, prison administrators and parole authorities.
This position may require frequent travel to prisons in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. Access to a vehicle is essential. A CPIC clearance is required to visit prisons.
Basic Qualifications:
Post-secondary education in Law, Criminology, Social Work, Paralegal training or equivalent;
Strong verbal, written and interviewing skills; and
Experience in a legal environment or advocacy an asset.
Skills and Abilities
ability to be a strong advocate for disadvantaged clients, including those with low income, those with mental health disabilities, and those whose first language is not English;
ability to work well with others in a team setting;
ability to negotiate and find creative solutions to prisoners’ legal problems;
ability to exercise excellent judgment in matters of ethics and confidentiality;
ability to identify systemic issues and think strategically;
must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, in particular in dealing with people in prison, lawyers, and prison and parole officials;
must be familiar with general software applications (e.g. MS Word, Outlook);
must be willing and prepared to assist those convicted of various crimes in a non-judgmental way; and
second language or demonstrated awareness of the cultural diversity an asset.
Salary: $60,975 (two and a half-year term with possibility of renewal) Closing date: September 1, 2023 Start date: ASAP
Interested applicants should submit a covering letter and résumé outlining how their qualifications meet the position requirements to:
We are committed to upholding the values of equity, diversity and inclusion and we welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who experience barriers to equity.
[Warning, this post includes graphic violence that may be disturbing to some readers/viewers.]
Unceded Coast Salish Territories (Burnaby, British Columbia) – Today, Nicholas Dinardo, a Two-Spirit Indigenous person in federal custody, makes public a video of Correctional Service Canada (CSC) officers breaking their arm in an excessive use of force. You can watch the video here (there is no audio to the video):
Mx. Dinardo obtained this and other use of force videos after filing Privacy Act requests for them, and taking CSC to Federal Court when they failed to release them well after the expiry of legislative time limits.
The video depicts an incident from May 30, 2021 at Port-Cartier Institution, where guards broke Mx. Dinardo’s arm by twisting it violently behind their back, after kicking and pushing them into their cell. Mx. Dinardo did not receive an X-ray until several days after this incident, which confirmed their arm was broken. CSC’s own internal review of this incident characterized this force as unnecessary and disproportionate. CSC Commissioner Anne Kelly has convened a National Board of Investigation to investigate this incident.
Throughout Mx. Dinardo’s imprisonment, CSC officers have repeatedly used force against them. Mx. Dinardo has been attempting to obtain the videos depicting these incidents for years, placing their first Privacy Act request for use of force records in December 2019. In September 2022, they filed lawsuits in Federal Court to force CSC to grant access to their personal information, arguing that CSC’s delays and refusals have violated their rights under the Privacy Act and the Charter.
Mx. Dinardo has also filed two human rights complaints against CSC for discriminating against them on the basis of their Indigenous identity, gender identity, religion, and mental disability. These complaints are ongoing.
Mx. Dinardo says: “I am relieved to finally have these videos so the world can see the violence and injustice I have experienced in prison. But the struggle is far from over. CSC has only released a fraction of the records I requested and am entitled to. Our court case continues.”
Jennifer Metcalfe, Executive Director of Prisoners’ Legal Services, says: “Access to information and videos regarding the government’s use of violence against people in prison is essential if we are going to have a prison system based on transparency and accountability. These rare glimpses of state violence behind prison walls should outrage the public.”
Mx. Dinardo is represented in their Federal Court litigation by Adam Goldenberg and Connor Bildfell of McCarthy Tétrault LLP and Jessica Magonet of Prisoners’ Legal Services.
You can read more about Mx. Dinardo’s Privacy Act case and human rights complaints here:
$1 billion represents the approximate amount of money CSC spends incarcerating Indigenous people each year, who represent 32% of people in federal prison. CSC’s annual budget is roughly $3 billion.
Decarceration through Self-Determination arrives at its recommendations through centring the voices of Indigenous people in prison, who are disproportionately warehoused in high levels of security, subjected to solitary confinement and uses of force, and prevented from accessing Indigenous-run healing lodges due to CSC’s racist security classification policies and risk assessments. The report also shines a light on the abuse of Indigenous people in prison, whose experiences are comparable to the treatment of Indigenous children in residential schools.
Among the report’s 18 recommendations, Prisoners’ Legal Services calls on Canada to end its delegation of powers to CSC to negotiate and set parameters on Indigenous-run alternatives to prison under s 81 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. Instead, it calls on Canada to fund Indigenous governments and organizations who wish to provide alternatives to prison, based on respect for the right to self-determination. The report highlights some of the inspiring work already being done by Indigenous governments and organizations who provide support to Indigenous people involved in the criminal legal system.
“The mass incarceration of Indigenous people in Canada violates domestic law, and international law against torture and colonial genocide. If Canada wants to honour Truth and Reconciliation, it must put an end to this practice, and implement real change by shifting funding priorities and respecting Indigenous law,” said Jennifer Metcalfe, executive director of Prisoners’ Legal Services, who is a white settler living and working on the unceded land of the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Qayqayt Nations.
“Indigenous Peoples have always had systems of government, law and dispute resolution that, before colonization, worked to maintain a unified, respectful and just society. Indigenous people affected by prisons, Elders, and Indigenous governments and organizations doing this important justice and reintegration work know what is effective to repair harm in their communities,” said Karly Morgan, legal advocate at Prisoners’ Legal Services, who is a member of the Haida Nation.
Unceded Coast Salish Territories (Burnaby, British Columbia) – Today, Prisoners’ Legal Services (PLS) filed a human rights complaint on behalf of Fallon Aubee, a transgender Indigenous woman, against Correctional Service Canada (CSC).
Ms. Aubee is a residential school survivor who is currently incarcerated at Fraser Valley Institution for Women. She previously spent sixteen years in institutions designated for men, where she experienced physical violence, harassment, and sexual violence due to her gender identity.
Finally being able to live with other women has been very important for Ms. Aubee. However, CSC still refuses to recognize her gender identity in its electronic systems because she has not had gender-affirming genital surgery. The Offender Management System (OMS) and her electronic medical records continue to categorize her sex as “male.”
Ms. Aubee is challenging a CSC policy called Commissioner’s Directive 100 – Gender Diverse Offenders which states that an individual’s “sex” will be solely determined “by their current genitalia.” The policy further states that a person’s “sex code in OMS will not change unless the offender undergoes gender-affirming surgery involving a change to their genitalia.” The OMS database is available to a large portion of CSC’s approximately 18,000 staff members. Many other agencies also have access to OMS.
While Ms. Aubee has been cleared for gender-affirming surgery, she has a heart condition that could impact her ability to proceed with it, especially given the long wait-times for surgery. She has changed the gender marker on her birth certificate and undergone a legal name change, but continues to be classified as “male” by CSC.
Ms. Aubee states: “Seeing CSC continue to classify me as ‘male’ makes me feel like they are erasing my identity as a woman. Those four letters are a constant reminder that CSC does not view me as an equal to other women. Classifying me as ‘male’ also violates my privacy and dignity, since it reveals intimate details about my body in a very public way. I am challenging this policy not just for myself but for all transgender people in CSC custody.”
Nicole Kief, legal advocate for Ms. Aubee, states: “CSC’s policy relies on the incorrect idea that trans women who have not had gender-affirming surgery are not ‘real’ women. The view that trans people are always – or should be – progressing toward surgery is based on outdated theories of gender that pathologized and stigmatized transgender people. The policy undermines the dignity of trans people and puts their safety at risk by ‘outing’ them as trans.”
Emilie Coyle, Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, states: “The human rights of trans people were enshrined in our laws because there was a recognition that they must be protected. Ms. Aubee’s complaint helps us to understand how we can improve our practices to protect the rights of trans people who are incarcerated. Wherever we can evolve to better respect the dignity and humanity of some, the safer the world becomes for everyone. Ms. Aubee’s fight for dignity is a fight for the dignity of everyone.”
A copy of Ms. Aubee’s complaint can be found here.
Media Contacts:
Jessica Magonet
Staff Lawyer at Prisoners’ Legal Services
jmagonet@pls-bc.ca
604-636-0470
Nicole Kief
Legal Advocate at Prisoners’ Legal Services
nkief@pls-bc.ca
604-636-0470
Emilie Coyle
Executive Director at the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS)
ecoyle@caefs.ca
613-316-6785
Prisoners’ Legal Services is looking for a passionate, problem solving, empathetic and dedicated advocate for the rights of people in prison with a focus on prison discipline.
We are a small non-profit society providing legal services to people in federal and provincial prison in the province of British Columbia.
The legal advocate position involves providing advocacy regarding prison legal issues. This work is primarily done by telephone, fax and email. Advocacy on behalf of people in prison may involve summary advice, informal advocacy, providing written submissions and personal representation at tribunals.
Legal advocates have conduct of client files and are responsible for ensuring day-to-day tasks are scheduled and performed within relevant timeframes. The job involves reviewing and determining the legal merit of cases and determining the level of service to be provided. Legal advocates work under the supervision of a lawyer.
Legal advocates have a great deal of contact with people in prison, prison administrators and parole authorities.
This position may require frequent travel to prisons in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. Access to a vehicle is essential. A CPIC clearance is required to visit prisons.
Basic Qualifications:
Post-secondary education in Law, Criminology, Social Work, Paralegal training or equivalent;
Strong verbal, written and interviewing skills; and
Experience in a legal environment or advocacy an asset.
Skills and Abilities
ability to be a strong advocate for disadvantaged clients, including those with low income, those with mental health disabilities, and those whose first language is not English;
ability to work well with others in a team setting;
ability to negotiate and find creative solutions to prisoners’ legal problems;
ability to exercise excellent judgment in matters of ethics and confidentiality;
ability to identify systemic issues and think strategically;
must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, in particular in dealing with people in prison, lawyers, and prison and parole officials;
must be familiar with general software applications (e.g. MS Word, Outlook);
must be willing and prepared to assist those convicted of various crimes in a non-judgmental way; and
second language or demonstrated awareness of the cultural diversity of prisoners an asset.
Annual salary: $58,615 (three-year term with possibility of renewal)
Closing date: March 26, 2023
Start date: ASAP
Interested applicants should submit a covering letter and résumé outlining how their qualifications meet the position requirements to:
Jennifer Metcalfe, Executive Director
Prisoners’ Legal Services/
West Coast Prison Justice Society
We are committed to upholding the values of equity, diversity and inclusion and we welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who experience barriers to equity.
