A group of prisoners who filed a Charter challenge last month in BC Supreme Court reached an agreement with BC Corrections today that will save them the effort and the enormous expense of having their case go to court.

Their challenge was against a provincial prison policy that restricted their access to methadone and Suboxone medication for opiate addiction treatment. The five prisoners sought an injunction order suspending the policy; and compelling BC Corrections to bring them before a doctor authorized by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC to prescribe methadone and suboxone.

The challenge was funded by the West Coast Prison Justice Society.

“At this time, all of our clients have been treated with the medication they were asking for, and BC Corrections has implemented a new policy,” said Adrienne Smith, a Vancouver lawyer acting for the four men in provincial custody who brought the case. “The decision is timely, given the Provincial Health Officer’s declaration of a public health emergency yesterday” Said Smith. “We know the fentanyl epidemic does not stop at the prison gate. We congratulate BC Corrections for making changes to its policies to address this issue before anyone else in prison in BC dies a preventable death”.

In the news:

• Vice
• The Globe and Mail

On April 15, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that a provision limiting the discretion of a judge to give enhanced pre-trial credit was overbroad and unconstitutional.

The West Coast Prison Justice Society/Prisoners’ Legal Services was represented at the Supreme Court of Canada by Greg Allen and Ken Leung in R v Safarzadeh-Markhali.

A provision of the Truth in Sentencing Act, which was enacted as part of the Harper government’s “tough on crime” agenda, prohibited a trial judge from giving more than one-for-one pretrial credit if a justice of the peace denies bail to the person because of a previous conviction.

Congratulations to all involved in this important case, and a special thanks to Greg and Ken who represented us pro bono.

The West Coast Prison Justice society has filed a human rights complaint against the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) on behalf of transgender prisoners.

CSC’s policies require prisoners to be placed in male or female prisons according to their genitals, rather than by gender identity. Both BC and Ontario corrections place prisoners according to gender, if that is the person’s preference. CSC’s policy means that vulnerable trans women are forced to live in men’s prisons where they are at constant risk of sexual assault.

CSC policy also puts trans prisoners at risk of suffering other dehumanizing forms of harassment and discrimination, including the risk of being forced to share a cell with someone of the opposite gender, being strip searched by officers of the opposite gender, or being referred to by the wrong name and inappropriate gender pronouns.

CSC’s policy also fails to conform to international standards for the provision of medically necessary surgery.

Prisoners’ Legal Services applauds BC Corrections decision to amend its policy on transgender prisoners to comply with human rights law. The new policy is similar to the policy implemented by the Ontario Correctional service, which requires:

• placement according to gender, unless there are overriding health or safety concerns that cannot be resolved;
• transgender prisoners to be given the opportunity to choose the gender of officers performing frisk or strip searches;
• transgender prisoners to retain personal items necessary to express their gender and to be provided preferred institutional clothing;
• transgender prisoners to be integrated into the general population, rather than in solitary confinement, unless there are proven overriding health and safety concerns which cannot be resolved;
• transgender prisoners to be given private shower and toilet facilities;
• transgender prisoners to be addressed by their preferred names and gender pronouns verbally and in written documents; and
• training and education for staff on gender identity and expression.

BC’s new policy goes further to protect the rights of transgender prisoners by prohibiting double bunking (sharing a cell) if a transgender prisoner is ever housed according to their birth sex, allowing prisoners to order canteen items according to their gender, and providing training to prisoners if appropriate.

BC Corrections consulted with Prisoners’ Legal Services in developing its new transgender prisoner policy. Prisoners’ Legal Services believes the policy may be the best example of any jurisdiction in Canada and the world for the accommodation of transgender prisoners. BC transgender prisoners are now protected by policy from being put at risk of sexual harassment and assault, and are now afforded the dignity and equality that all people deserve.

May 21, 2015

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has ignored the most significant recommendations for respecting the rights of transgender prisoners made by Prisoners’ Legal Services (PLS).

Over a year after PLS provided CSC with policy recommendations  regarding transgender prisoners, CSC has amended its policies with only minor changes that will have no positive impact on the lives of trans prisoners.

According to CSC policy, pre-operative trans women prisoners in Canada are forced to live in men’s prisons, which often results in women being sexually assaulted by male prisoners. Trans women prisoners may be forced to double bunk with male prisoners, they can be forced to be frisked, strip searched and urinalysis tested by male officers, and are not provided private shower facilities. Trans prisoners often have difficulty ordering personal effects according to their genders such as make up or deodorant. Despite PLS’ recommendations on each of these issues, the minor amendments to CSC policy that came into effect on April 27, 2015 have not changed any of these policies.

These significant human rights were recently protected by the Ontario Correctional Service which now allows trans prisoners to choose who will perform searches, requires trans prisoners to be housed according to their preference (unless there are proven overriding health or safety concerns), provides that trans prisoners must not be isolated (unless there are proven overriding health and safety concerns), allows trans prisoners to retain personal items, and provides for private shower and toilet facilities. The Ontario policy also provides for a comprehensive staff training program.

CSC policy continues to require trans prisoners who would otherwise qualify for sex reassignment surgery to live according to their genders in the community for 12 consecutive months. Prisoners who have been in custody for all or most of their adult lives are not able to meet this test, and for this reason will never be able to have their bodies reflect their genders, or live in an institution according to their genders, unless they are granted conditional release or reach their warrant expiry dates.

CSC also ignored PLS’ recommendation to abide by the international Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender- Nonconforming People published by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, regarding qualification for sex reassignment surgery. According to the Standards of Care, prisoners can qualify for sex reassignment surgery after living the “real life experience” of living according to one’s gender while in prison. This is also consistent with American case law that has found that a person can have a real life experience in prison (see Kosilek v. Spencer, 2012). It has also been adopted by the US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons.