Unceded Coast Salish Territories (Burnaby, BC) – Today, Nick Dinardo, a Two-Spirit Indigenous person in federal custody, filed a lawsuit against the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). Mx. Dinardo is going to Federal Court to enforce their rights under the Privacy Act and the Charter to access their personal information documenting the use of force against them by CSC correctional officers.
Throughout Mx. Dinardo’s imprisonment, CSC correctional officers have repeatedly harassed, abused, and mistreated them, including by using force against them. Mx. Dinardo requested access to their own personal information documenting several of these uses of force and, more than one year later, CSC has failed to respond to the bulk of their requests. Mx. Dinardo is now asking the Federal Court to require CSC to disclose their information. They will also argue that CSC’s delays and refusals have limited their ability to criticize their unlawful treatment in prison, and that this violated their Charter rights.
Mx. Dinardo had previously filed two human rights complaints against CSC for failing to accommodate their mental health needs and for discriminating against them based on their Indigenous identity and gender identity. These complaints are ongoing.
Mx. Dinardo states: “If people in prison cannot access their personal information in CSC’s hands, how can we possibly speak out about our mistreatment? Access to information is critical for shining a light on what happens behind prison doors.”
Adam Goldenberg, counsel for Mx. Dinardo, states: “Correctional authorities in Canada have a legal duty to provide people in prison with access to their own personal information under the Privacy Act. As Nicholas Dinardo’s case illustrates, systemic delays and refusals to provide legally required access can seriously impede incarcerated people’s ability to express themselves, to challenge their treatment in prison, and to hold correctional authorities accountable. Mx. Dinardo’s case seeks to reaffirm the right of people in prison to timely access under the Privacy Act and the Charter.”
Jessica Magonet, staff lawyer at Prisoners’ Legal Services, says: “Prisoners’ Legal Services has helped over 75 incarcerated people make requests for their own records from CSC. Extensive delays, some in excess of 1000 days, are a chronic and systemic issue. When CSC does respond, their responses are often incomplete. It is time to hold them to account.”
Nicole Kief, legal advocate at Prisoners’ Legal Services, says: “People in prison are especially vulnerable due to the power prison officials have over every aspect of their lives. Often when they complain about mistreatment, they are not believed. Getting timely access to personal records, including video documentation of uses of force, is critical for transparency and accountability.”
Mx. Dinardo is represented in this 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 human rights complaints here:
- NEWS RELEASE: Two-Spirit prisoner files human rights complaint over violence and harassment in federal prisons designated for men – West Coast Prison Justice Society
- NEWS RELEASE: Correctional Service Canada uses violence and isolation to respond to self-harm and distress, human rights complaint alleges – West Coast Prison Justice Society
Media Contacts:
- Nick Dinardo – to request an interview with Mx. Dinardo, contact CSC’s national media line at 613-992-7711 or email media@csc-scc.gc.ca or PACmedia@csc-scc.gc.ca
- Adam Goldenberg, counsel for Mx. Dinardo, at agoldenberg@mccarthy.ca or 416-601-8357
- Nicole Kief, legal advocate at Prisoners’ Legal Services, at nkief@pls-bc.ca or 604-636-0470
- Jessica Magonet, staff lawyer at Prisoners’ Legal Services, at jmagonet@pls-bc.ca or 604-636-0470