by Web Master | Jun 6, 2022 | News, Uncategorized
Prisoners’ Legal Services is looking for a receptionist/administrative assistant who wants to use their skills to support the rights of people in prison.
We are a small non-profit society providing legal services to people in federal and provincial prisons in the province of British Columbia.
The receptionist/administrative assistant reports to the executive director. The position involves providing reception/intake, office and clerical services to support lawyers and advocates.
Duties include:
- Answering calls from clients, entering information into our database, determining their legal issues, directing calls to the appropriate staff member and taking messages as appropriate;
- Providing clients with referrals to other agencies, sending public legal education material and providing limited legal information in specific identified areas;
- Answering other calls, taking messages, arranging couriers, sending and delivering faxes and mail;
- Maintaining accurate database and filing system;
- Drafting letters;
- Track access to information requests and responses;
- Arranging legal aid lawyers to represent clients at hearings;
- providing advocacy and litigation support for advocates and lawyers;
- may assist with IT and website; and
- keeping the office organized and tidy, vacuuming and taking out recycling and garbage every other week.
Basic Qualifications:
- grade 12 education and training in administrative assistance;
- knowledge of computer systems; and
- adequate typing speed.
Skills and Abilities:
- able to be discreet and to exercise excellent judgment in matters of ethics and confidentiality;
- ability to work well with others in a team setting;
- must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, in particular in dealing with people in prison, lawyers, prison and parole officials;
- must be efficient;
- must have ability to deal with distressed clients in a calm and respectful manner; and
- must have a desire to assist those convicted of various crimes in a non-judgmental way, including those with mental health disabilities, those with low income, or those whose first language is not English.
Salary: $43,166 (benefits after 6 months)
Closing date: June 17, 2022
Starting date: ASAP
Interested applicants should submit a covering letter together with a résumé outlining how their qualifications meet the position requirements to:
Jennifer Metcalfe, Executive Director
Prisoners’ Legal Services
Email: jmetcalfe[at]pls-bc.ca
prisonjustice.org
by Web Master | Apr 13, 2022 | News
Intake worker/Administrative Assistant
Prisoners’ Legal Services, Burnaby, BC
Prisoners’ Legal Services is looking for a compassionate intake worker/administrative assistant who wants to use their skills to support the rights of people in prison.
We are a small non-profit society providing legal services to federal and provincial prisoners in the province of British Columbia.
The intake worker/administrative assistant reports to the executive director. The position involves providing reception/intake, office and clerical services to support lawyers and advocates.
Duties include:
- Answering calls from clients, entering information into our database, determining their legal issues, directing calls to the appropriate staff member and taking messages as appropriate;
- Providing clients with referrals to other agencies, sending public legal education material and providing limited legal information in specific identified areas;
- Answering other calls, taking messages, arranging couriers, sending and delivering faxes and mail;
- Maintaining accurate database and filing system;
- Drafting letters;
- Track access to information requests and responses;
- Arranging legal aid lawyers to represent clients at hearings;
- providing advocacy and litigation support for advocates and lawyers;
- may assist with IT and website; and
- keeping the office organized and tidy, vacuuming and taking out recycling and garbage every other week.
Basic Qualifications:
- grade 12 education and training in administrative assistance;
- knowledge of computer systems; and
- adequate typing speed.
Skills and Abilities:
- able to be discreet and to exercise excellent judgment in matters of ethics and confidentiality;
- ability to work well with others in a team setting;
- must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, in particular in dealing with people in prison, lawyers, prison and parole officials;
- must have ability to deal with distressed clients in a calm and respectful manner; and
- must have a desire to assist those convicted of various crimes in a non-judgmental way, including those with mental health disabilities, those with low income, or those whose first language is not English.
Salary: $41,490 (benefits after 6 months)
Closing date: April 25, 2022
Starting date: May 2022
Interested applicants should submit a covering letter describing why they would like to work in a social justice oriented organization that serves people in prison, together with a résumé outlining how their qualifications meet the position requirements to:
Jennifer Metcalfe, Executive Director
Prisoners’ Legal Services
Tel: (604) 853-3114
Fax: (604) 853-1038
Email: jmetcalfe@pls-bc.ca
by Web Master | Dec 17, 2021 | Submissions
Today, Prisoners’ Legal Services wrote to Correctional Service Canada Commissioner Anne Kelly asking for policy reform to prohibit correctional officers from cutting the clothes off people in prison, and preventing correctional officers from being present on living units in treatment centres, unless called in by health care staff. Click here to see the letter.
by Web Master | Dec 17, 2021 | News Releases
Burnaby, BC – Prisoners’ Legal Services
Prisoners’ Legal Services (PLS) and the Correctional Service Canada (CSC) have come to an agreement to settle a complaint filed by PLS with the Canadian Human Rights Commission in 2018 about CSC’s administration of Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT). PLS filed the complaint in response to calls from over 75 people who were unable to receive lifesaving OAT in prison due to long waitlists or because they had been inappropriately cut off their medication.
CSC has committed to eliminating waitlists for OAT. When PLS filed its complaint, our clients were regularly waiting months, and sometimes over one year, to receive OAT. CSC’s most recent statistics show that the total number of people receiving OAT in custody has been increasing, and the number of people across the country waiting for OAT has decreased. As of September 2021, institutions in the Pacific region and elsewhere have small or no waitlists, though long waitlists still exist at some institutions, particularly in the Prairie region. CSC will continue to publish waitlist data on its website until waitlists are eliminated at every institution.
People in prison also regularly reported that they would be cut off OAT if they were suspected of giving away their medication, even if they were benefiting from the medication. Some reported being cut off cold turkey, resulting in painful and dangerous withdrawal symptoms. Many discussed their fears of overdosing.
CSC’s OAT program will now be overseen by a National Medical Advisor for OAT, a new position within CSC. CSC has also made changes to its Guidance document on OAT to ensure that medical professionals act in the best interest of their patients and follow the United Nations Mandela Rules, which outline ethical obligations of healthcare providers in prisons.
CSC has now made it clear that OAT must not be discontinued unless it is clinically appropriate or at the request of the patient. Health care providers will work with patients to help them engage in treatment that is right for them, and if patients are benefiting from OAT they should not be discontinued. Any withdrawal symptoms will be treated urgently. All involuntary discontinuations will now be reviewed by the National OAT Medical Advisor, and the patient is entitled to a copy of the review.
CSC has also included Good Samaritan principles in its policy on institutional discipline so that people can seek medical assistance for potential overdoses without fear of being charged.
PLS’ human rights complaint also addressed the lack of psychosocial support for people with opioid dependence, in addition to medication. CSC has committed to implementing Self-Management and Recovery Training (SMART), which will be available at each penitentiary in Canada. Additional or different psychosocial treatment will be offered when clinically indicated.
CSC has also engaged with a medical records specialist to address the difficulty patients have getting timely access to their own medical records.
“Canada is in the midst of an overdose crisis,” said Prisoners’ Legal Services Executive Director Jennifer Metcalfe. “Access to OAT is an essential health service and we are pleased CSC has committed to making sure people in federal custody can access it without unnecessary barriers or delays. We are also pleased that CSC’s OAT program will be governed by international ethical standards for prison healthcare and overseen by an addictions medicine expert.
“Our work is driven by the concerns of our incarcerated clients, and we filed this complaint after hearing over and over that they could not get OAT. This settlement helps to affirm the human rights of people in federal custody who use drugs,” said Nicole Kief, Legal Advocate at Prisoners’ Legal Services.
Click here to see CSC`s news release regarding the settlement.
Click here to see CSC`s factsheet on its OAT program.
Media contacts:
Jennifer Metcalfe
Nicole Kief
604-636-0470
by Web Master | Dec 16, 2021 | News Releases
Burnaby BC – Today, Prisoners’ Legal Services filed a human rights complaint on behalf of Perry DeFazio against the Correctional Service Canada for discrimination based on mental health disability.
Perry has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and has a history of self-harm and suicide attempts. He is a survivor of childhood physical and sexual abuse.
On January 28, 2020, Perry was put in an isolation cell for suicide monitoring at Correctional Service Canada’s Regional Mental Health Centre in Quebec. Correctional officers forcibly tackled Perry, held him down on the bed and cut off his clothes.
Later the same day, Perry was strapped to Pinel restraints to prevent self-harm, where he was taunted by a correctional officer. He spent hours in the restraints. A nurse saw that his foot was injured and asked officers to adjust the straps. An officer accused Perry of spitting at him, although officers were wearing face shields. An officer then punched Perry in the head twice. Another officer hit him in the face three times. He was eventually taken to the hospital where he saw in a mirror that his face was swollen like a balloon. Hospital records confirm that officers used so much force that the bone around Perry’s eye was fractured and his nose was injured.
“I feel traumatized and I am afraid when guards come near me” Perry says in his complaint. He also describes experiencing anxiety attacks.
The Correctional Service Canada reviewed the use of force and concluded that the force was not necessary or proportionate. The Office of the Correctional Investigator confirmed these findings.
“It is appalling that physical violence is used at a Treatment Centre against someone in emotional distress. Treatment centres should be safe and therapeutic environments where people are treated compassionately by health care professionals. Instead we see people facing isolation and violence when they feel suicidal,” said Jennifer Metcalfe, executive director of Prisoners’ Legal Services.
CSC health care staff did not speak with Perry about this violent experience, or help him to process it.
“Trust is an essential foundation to any therapeutic health care relationship. How can people in prison have trust with mental health care providers if they fail to acknowledge the trauma of these kinds of abusive practices?” said Jennifer Metcalfe.
Prisoners’ Legal Services takes the position that correctional officers should not be on living units of treatment centres unless called in by health care staff for assistance, and that interventions for people in emotional distress should be led by health care staff.
Media contact:
Jennifer Metcalfe
604-636-0470
by J Metcalfe | Dec 9, 2021 | Aboriginal Prisoners, News, Submissions
Today, Prisoners’ Legal Services wrote to Premier Horgan calling on BC to fund initiatives for Indigenous-run alternatives to prison. Click here to see the letter.
by J Metcalfe | Dec 1, 2021 | News Releases
November 30, 2021 – Burnaby, BC – On the two-year anniversary of the implementation of Structured Intervention Units (SIU), Prisoners’ Legal Services (PLS) has secured the right to be represented by legal counsel for people held in SIU.
Despite legislation protecting the right to counsel when someone is placed in this most restrictive environment permitted by law, Kent Institution in BC was refusing to share essential documents with lawyers representing clients in SIU. Kent staff even refused to tell lawyers the date and time of review hearings for their clients in SIU, making it impossible for PLS to administer legal aid to those held under this restrictive regime.
The Correctional Service Canada (CSC) took the position that it was the person held in SIU’s responsibility to share that information with their counsel. However, many of PLS’ clients were unable to share their documents or the time and date of hearings in time to receive representation.
People in prison have limited access to the telephone and they do not have access to email. They may not know which documents are relevant to a particular review, and may not be able to fill out all of the forms Kent Institution required to have their documents sent to counsel in time to receive representation. People are only notified of the time of some reviews the day before the hearing, and it may take 24 hours for a request to telephone counsel to be facilitated. This made it impossible for PLS to appoint a lawyer to represent the person at their hearing in most cases.
After PLS filed an application in Federal Court on February 24, 2020 challenging CSC’s failure to abide by the right to counsel in SIU reviews, CSC has agreed to share documents and the time and date of hearings directly with counsel. See Kent’s letter outlining its obligations here.
“It is imperative that people held in SIU are able to exercise their right to counsel, because of the increased deprivation of liberty they are facing in that setting. The right to counsel is fundamental to a fair process. Legal counsel’s access to documents relied upon by CSC in making their decisions is crucial to ensuring effective legal assistance to prisoners,” said Talia Magder, counsel for PLS.
“The SIU regime allows CSC to hold people in solitary confinement, which the United Nations considers torture or cruel treatment after 15 days. CSC must not be permitted to treat people in its custody with cruelty behind closed doors, and without a fair and transparent review,” said Jennifer Metcalfe, Executive Director of PLS.
“Many of the people who end up in SIU are suffering the effects of long-term isolation. Many have experienced violence and trauma in prison, including at the hands of correctional officers. They are among the most vulnerable, and their right to legal assistance must be protected to ensure their human rights, dignity, and right to liberty are not violated,” said Metcalfe.
Media contact:
Jennifer Metcalfe, Executive Director
Prisoners’ Legal Services
604-636-0470
by Web Master | Sep 29, 2021 | News, News Releases, Uncategorized
BURNABY, BC – September 29, 2021
Today, Prisoners’ Legal Services released a paper documenting government reports that confirm Canada’s treatment of Indigenous people held in its prisons constitutes a continuation of genocide and crimes against humanity.
Indigenous people in prison are more likely to be held in maximum security and solitary confinement. They are more likely to have violence used against them by correctional officers. Indigenous people in prison have high rates of death by homicide, suicide attempts and self-harm.
The Canadian government spends more than half-a-billion dollars each year imprisoning Indigenous people, while it denies funding to Indigenous communities to provide healing services and significantly under-funds Indigenous-run healing lodges.
On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Prisoners’ Legal Services calls on Canada to end the genocidal practice of incarcerating Indigenous people in prisons, and calls on Canada to ensure Indigenous communities have the resources to provide healing alternatives to imprisonment.
Leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Prisoners’ Legal Services has received reports from Indigenous people that correctional officers have been making racist remarks, including that the reports of unmarked graves identified at the sites of former residential schools are “fake news” and “propaganda” and that Indigenous people should “let it go”.
These remarks were made to people who are experiencing the very real pain and intergenerational trauma of genocide, in an environment where every aspect of their lives is controlled by the state.
“There is hypocrisy in creating a national holiday in the spirit of truth and reconciliation with Indigenous people while Canada actively engages in the mass-incarceration of Indigenous people. We can’t have truth until Canada acknowledges these ongoing atrocities, and we can’t have reconciliation until we stop denying Indigenous nations and communities the ability to heal,” said Jennifer Metcalfe, executive director of Prisoners’ Legal Services.
Media contact:
Jennifer Metcalfe
604-636-0470
jmetcalfe@pls-bc.ca
by Web Master | Sep 10, 2021 | News, Submissions, Uncategorized
On September 2, 2021, Prisoners’ Legal Services presented to the BC Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services. You can read our written submission here.
by J Metcalfe | Aug 26, 2021 | News
Beginning on September 7, 2021, anyone who was in administrative segregation in a federal penitentiary in Canada
a) for 16 consecutive days or more after March 3, 2011, or
b) for any amount of time after July 20, 2009, and you were diagnosed with a mental disorder or borderline personality disorder before or during incarceration, and you suffered serious impairment as a result of your disorder and reported it to CSC,
can make a claim for compensation. You can make a claim for compensation whether you were in administrative segregation “voluntarily” or not. Please see https://www.segregationclassactionfederal.ca/en/home for more information.
Please share this information widely with anyone who might be able to make a claim.
