by J Metcalfe | Jul 31, 2020 | News, News Releases
BURNABY, BC – July 31, 2020 – Today, Prisoners’ Legal Services (“PLS”) filed a human rights complaint on behalf of Nicholas Dinardo, a 28-year-old member of the Piapot First Nation, against Correctional Service Canada (“CSC”).
Nick has a history of trauma and their family are residential school survivors. They have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and have attempted suicide many times. Their acts of self-harm have sometimes been so severe that they have required blood transfusions.
“Instead of responding to Nick’s needs with therapeutic and culturally appropriate mental health and healing services, CSC’s primary responses have involved force and isolation,” said Jennifer Metcalfe, PLS’ Executive Director. “[Their] experience is emblematic of how CSC treats Indigenous prisoners, who have often experienced multi-generational trauma tied to colonialism and are more likely to be classified to maximum security, held in isolation, and have officers use force against them. These kinds of responses only serve to further traumatize people who are already suffering, and continue Canada’s legacy of genocide against Indigenous peoples.”
Nick’s emotional distress has been met with extreme force, including the Emergency Response Team (akin to a riot squad), pepper spray, tear gas and batons. Officers recently shot them in the face with a rubber bullet. “At a time when Canada is reckoning with police brutality against racialized people and the harm done when police respond to emotional crises, CSC must also stop responding to emotional distress with violence,” said Ms. Metcalfe.
Nick has also experienced long-term solitary confinement in CSC custody, including an approximate seven-month continuous placement in 2012. Most recently, they were in a “structured intervention unit” (“SIU”) for approximately three months, where they rarely left their cell. SIUs were introduced in November 2019 to replace administrative segregation.
CSC also places Nick in small isolation cells where it monitors prisoners at risk of suicide or self-harm. Prisoners on suicide watch are often deprived of clothing (they must wear “suicide smocks”), belongings, diversions to help occupy their minds, and meaningful human contact. Sometimes Nick does not even have a mattress to sleep on. “One hour can feel like a whole day when you’re in conditions like that,” says Nick. “A weekend can feel like forever and it makes me feel hopeless. It makes me feel worse than I did before and want to kill myself more.”
Even at CSC treatment centres, which are supposed to be therapeutic, Nick has been isolated and antagonized by correctional officers. Nick remember officers telling them they hoped Nick would die.
“Despite the overwhelming evidence and acknowledgement by Canadian courts that solitary confinement causes serious psychological harm, CSC continues to isolate prisoners already at risk of suicide,” said Ms. Metcalfe.
An Independent External Decision Maker who reviewed Nick’s SIU placement concluded: “[t]here is a strong probability that, should serious intervention not be taken, [Dinardo] will die in jail as a result of a successful suicide, or that [they] will enter back into society with the same issues that brought [them] there.”
In 2019, PLS released an analysis of how correctional officers use of force in federal and provincial prisons in BC, based on interviews with over 100 prisoners. The report found that officers were frequently responding with violence to prisoners with mental health disabilities and prisoners in emotional distress, which results in trauma for prisoners and creates an adversarial environment that compromises safety for everyone. The report called on CSC to transform its approach to crisis intervention. CSC did not respond to the report’s recommendations.
Nick’s complaint builds on a representative human rights complaint filed by PLS in 2018, which alleges that CSC discriminates against prisoners with mental health disabilities. This case was recently referred to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
Click here to see a copy of Nick’s complaint and here to see a copy of the representative complaint.
Media contact:
Jennifer Metcalfe
jmetcalfe@pls-bc.ca
604-636-0470
by J Metcalfe | Jul 23, 2020 | News
LEGAL ADVOCATE
Prisoners’ Legal Services, Burnaby, BC
Prisoners’ Legal Services is looking for a passionate, problem solving, empathetic and dedicated advocate for prisoners’ rights, with a focus on liberty rights.
We are a small non-profit society providing legal services to federal and provincial prisoners in the province of British Columbia.
The legal advocate position involves providing advocacy to prisoners regarding prison legal issues. This work is primarily done by telephone, fax and email. Advocacy on behalf of prisoners 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 prisoners, prison administrators and parole authorities.
This position requires 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;
- must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, in particular in dealing with prisoners, 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.
Salary: $52,847 (benefits after six months)
Closing date: August 14, 2020
Start date: September, 2020
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
Email: jmetcalfe@pls-bc.ca
prisonjustice.org
by J Metcalfe | Apr 10, 2020 | News
Prisoners’ Legal Services is deeply concerned with the rate that COVID-19 is spreading in federal penitentiaries, and at BC’s Mission Institution in particular. The federal government has done nothing to meaningfully protect prisoners, staff and the broader public from the spread of the pandemic. We call on Public Safety Minister Bill Blair to take dramatic and urgent action by releasing all prisoners with a low public safety risk, and we ask others to please share this plea. You can read our letter to Minister Blair here.
by J Metcalfe | Apr 7, 2020 | News
On April 6, 2020, Prisoners’ Legal Services and Dr. Claire Bodkin wrote to federal and BC provincial government authorities and health officers to share a letter, signed by over 100 doctors, nurses and other health providers across Canada, urgently calling for the depopulation of prisons and jails to prevent COVID-19 from wreaking havoc within Canada’s correctional facilities.
The letter highlights the medical vulnerability of incarcerated people in Canada, citing the high rates of chronic illnesses that put people at risk of severe complications from COVID-19, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, tuberculosis, asthma and other respiratory diseases, and the large proportion of older people in custody. The letter also explains how the realities of the prison environment facilitate the spread of the virus. Together, the letter states, these factors create the perfect storm for COVID-19 transmission, illness and death.
At least 20 prisoners at four federal institutions have tested positive for COVID-19, with additional tests pending. At least one prisoner at the Okanagan Correctional Centre in BC has tested positive.
In the United States, where COVID-19 has been spreading rapidly throughout correctional facilities, prisoners have already died in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Louisiana, Georgia, Massachusetts and New York. At least 210 detainees and 60 staff at the Cook County Jail in Illinois have tested positive. At Rikers Island jail in New York, cases have soared, with at least 231 incarcerated people and 223 staff members testing positive. Ross MacDonald, Rikers’ Chief Physician, called it a “public health disaster unfolding before our eyes” and called for “the focus remain on releasing as many vulnerable people as possible.”
The window to act to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in correctional facilities is closing. We urge BC and Canada to heed the call of these health providers to stop admitting people to jails and prisons unless absolutely necessary and to release as many people as possible – especially those with chronic health conditions and those age 50 and above, so they may abide by public safety recommendations and self-isolate at home.
An updated version of the letter which includes additional health providers who have signed on since the letter was sent , can be found here.
Claire Bodkin, MD
Resident Physician, Family Medicine
McMaster University
Executive Director | Barrister & Solicitor
Prisoners’ Legal Services
by J Metcalfe | Apr 4, 2020 | News, Uncategorized
Prisoners’ Legal Services is among many organizations and individuals calling on provincial and federal governments to reduce incarceration to prevent the spread of COVID-19 inside prisons. You can read our letter to government here:
20200319 – Call to Reduce Incarceration During COVID-19 Pandemic
by Web Master | Oct 31, 2019 | News, News Articles
Follow this link to see the Fifth Estate’s story about CSC’s continued use of solitary confinement on Joey Toutsaint, 12 years after the tragic death of Ashley Smith:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbMUXnN0Y6khttps://www.cbc.ca/fifth/m_episodes/2019-2020/wronged-did-ashley-smiths-death-end-solitary-confinement
by Web Master | Jun 26, 2019 | News, News Articles
https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2019/06/24/bc-court-upholds-decision-striking-down-canadas-solitary-confinement-laws.html
by Web Master | Jun 20, 2019 | News, News Releases, Uncategorized
Today, Prisoners’ Legal Services called on the governments of Canada and British Columbia to take immediate and dramatic action to address the crisis of the over-representation of Indigenous prisoners.
Click here to see our open letter to government.
We make this call to action with other leaders in the legal community, including the Canadian Prison Law Association, the Indigenous Bar Association, the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association, the Alberta Prison Justice Society.
by Web Master | Jun 17, 2019 | Reports
use of force report online
by J Metcalfe | Jun 17, 2019 | News, News Releases
Burnaby BC
Today, the West Coast Prison Justice Society and Prisoners’ Legal Services (“PLS”) released Damage/Control: Use of force and the cycle of violence and trauma in BC’s federal and provincial prisons. The report analyzes law and policy governing the use of force by correctional officers in light of interviews with over 100 federal and provincial prisoners and makes 87 recommendations for change.
The report highlights the stories of 21 people who were subjected to acts of force in the custody of BC Corrections or Correctional Service Canada (“CSC”), including federal prisoner Joey. Joey, who like many people in custody has a history of trauma, began self-harming in prison as a coping mechanism. Because of his self-harm, Joey has been pepper-sprayed and forcibly removed from his cell by the Emergency Response Team, a group of officers in riot gear with pepper spray and shields. He has been isolated in empty, filthy cells with the lights on 24 hours per day and officers sitting outside threatening to pepper spray him if he hurts himself. Joey says these experiences were so traumatic that now, when he worries the Emergency Response Team is coming, he often waits with a razor blade to his throat or a noose wrapped around his neck.
“Joey’s case exemplifies the psychological harm done to prisoners when officers repeatedly rely on force. Using force rather than a therapeutic response has done nothing to stop his self-harm and only exacerbates his distress and thoughts of suicide. This terrible cycle indicates how misguided, counterproductive, and dangerous it is to use a punitive response against traumatized and vulnerable prisoners,” said Nicole Kief, Joey’s PLS legal advocate and the report’s author.
The report finds that both CSC and BC Corrections officers use force in response to prisoners in emotional distress and as a tool to coerce compliance, even when there is no immediate risk to safety. It argues that relying on physical force in these circumstances creates an adversarial environment that compromises safety and wellbeing for both prisoners and staff.
“This report is designed to bring prisoners’ stories to the forefront and highlight the way even ‘justified’ uses of force can create environments of mistrust, trauma and fear,” said Ms. Kief. “Eliminating acts of force, as far as possible, is to the benefit of BC Corrections and CSC, as well as to the people in their custody.”
As part of PLS’s review, BC Corrections made internal materials available to PLS, including video footage and internal reports about many use of force incidents. “We commend BC Corrections for their commitment to transparency and accountability,” said Ms. Kief. “It is unfortunate CSC was not equally transparent.” The report calls for greater public accountability when officers use force, recommending the BC Investigation and Standards Office review every use of force against prisoners in BC Corrections custody. It also calls for prisoners’ voices to be heard in use of force reviews and for prisoners to have access to their personal information when force is used against them.
The report also examines the role of prison medical professionals, who check prisoners for injuries after officers use force. “We found that policies fail to ensure prison medical staff meet their ethical obligations to act with undivided loyalty to their patients and to document and report signs of ill-treatment,” said Jennifer Metcalfe, PLS’s Executive Director.
The report makes 87 recommendations for change, including:
• Using force only when necessary to prevent imminent harm to a person, and never to coerce compliance.
• Limiting Emergency Response Teams to emergencies involving imminent threats of serious physical harm, such as hostage takings or riots.
• Providing officers with in-depth training on working with people with mental health disabilities, particularly when they work at treatment centres, on mental health units, on segregation units, and as members of Emergency Response Teams.
• Creating specialized officer-nurse teams to respond jointly to situations involving emotional or medical distress, following police-health partnerships in the community.
• Developing and expanding mechanisms for prisoners with serious mental health needs, including those who chronically self-harm, to reside at community psychiatric facilities.
• Authorizing the Investigation and Standards Office to review every use of force in BC Corrections facilities.
To view the report, click here.
Media contacts:
Nicole Kief, Legal Advocate
604-636-0470
nkief@pls-bc.ca
Jennifer Metcalfe, Executive Director
604-636-0470
jmetcalfe@pls-bc.ca
