Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

February 7, 2023

Canada: bringing law into prisons

Interview

North America Access to legal rights Canada

Philippe Bensimon and Mélanie Martel participated in writing the book Droit carcéral et gestion des peines. What makes this tool necessary? What are the issues concerning the respect of prisoners’ rights in Canada today? Interview. Read more

February 7, 2023

Canada : seen in the press / 2023

News

North America Canada

Violence, acts of protest, prison conditions, justice reforms: find out what is new about prisons and justice in this country. Prison Insider monitors the press on a regular basis. Change the language setting to French or Spanish to read other articles. Read more

January 9, 2023

Canada: double bind for incarcerated minors

Interview

Minors Facilities Rehabilitation Canada

Nicolas Sallée spent several months in a secure unit in Montreal, Quebec, where young people in conflict with the law are housed under supervision. Narratives and questions about the contradictions of the place emerged. Interview. Read more

November 9, 2022

From City to City

Opinion

Facilities Overcrowding Social ties Canada

Walls that move: with every transfer, prisoners in Quebec travel hundreds of kilometres crammed into vans. Read more

July 4, 2022

Canada: "a drop in the ocean"

Interview

Coronavirus North America Health Facilities Overcrowding Canada

“Since prisons are such confined and notoriously unsanitary places, vaccinating the prisoners was an urgent matter. At the very least, vaccinating the oldest and most vulnerable among them was a top priority.” Read more

January 10, 2022

Canada: seen in the press / 2022

News

North America Canada

Violence, acts of protest, prison conditions, justice reforms: find out what is new about prisons and justice in this country. Prison Insider monitors the press on a regular basis. Read more

October 14, 2021

Canada: seen in the press / 2021

News

North America Canada

Violence, acts of protest, prison conditions, justice reforms: find out what is new about prisons and justice in this country. Prison Insider monitors the press on a regular basis. Read more

June 23, 2021

Canada: abuse, discrimination in immigration detention

News

North America Pre-trial detention Foreign prisoners Access to legal rights Justice Violence Canada

Canada incarcerates thousands of people, including those with disabilities, on immigration-related grounds every year in often abusive conditions, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today in a joint report ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20. The 100-page report, “I Didn’t Feel Lik…

Source — Human rights watch

February 1, 2021

Canada : bannir les courtes peines de prison pour éviter des suicides

News

North America Pre-trial detention Justice Mental health Suicide Alternatives Canada

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

November 25, 2020

Canada: why Covid-19 shows it’s time to consider prison abolition

News

Coronavirus North America Women Health Mental health Social ties Alternatives Rehabilitation Canada

There are five federal prisons for women in Canada, none of which are in Newfoundland. For women from the province facing a federal sentence, this usually means they will serve their time in the Nova Institution for Women (Nova) in Truro, Nova Scotia. Being a province away from their communities me… Read more

July 8, 2020

Canada: class action alleges prison staff conducting illegal strip searches

News

North America Canada

Two former federal prison inmates are trying to bring a class-action lawsuit against the federal government to argue strip searches represent a “serious deprivation of liberty.” Under federal law, prison staff can strip search inmates if they have reasonable grounds to suspect an inmate has contrab…

Source — CBC

July 1, 2020

Canada: Inuit overrepresented in federal prisons’ COVID-19 cases

Coronavirus North America Health Canada

“They were afraid, they were stressed, they were kept in isolation”

Source — Nunatsiaq

June 10, 2020

Canada: spiritual needs of vulnerable federal inmates unmet during pandemic: chaplains

News

Coronavirus North America Religion Canada

OTTAWA – Federal prison chaplains say the spiritual needs of inmates have become an unnecessary casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic at a time when offenders are feeling particularly vulnerable and alone. The Correctional Service of Canada is allowing only emergency in-person visits from chaplains to…

Source — CTV News

May 27, 2020

Canada: décès d’un autre prisonnier, les proches des détenus lancent un appel à l’aide

News

Coronavirus North America Health Canada

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

March 19, 2020

Canada: suspending prison visits over COVID-19 sparks fears of inmate backlash

News

Coronavirus North America Health Canada

In an attempt to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, most visitations with inmates have been suspended indefinitely in Ontario jails and federal prisons across Canada. The Ontario government has suspended all visits with family and friends, while Correctional Service Canada (CSC) has cance…

Source — CBC

January 31, 2020

Canada: “prisoners' health is public health”

Interview

North America Health Canada

Incarcerated persons are at substantially higher risk of getting infected with HIV and HCV. The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network develops actions to prevent these infections inside and outside of prison. PI asked them three questions. Read more

December 9, 2019

Canada: une cour ontarienne entendra une contestation judiciaire

News

North America Canada

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

November 3, 2019

Canada: barring federal inmates access to clean needles in prison is unconstitutional, say activists

News

North America Canada

Correctional Service of Canada has long tried to keep drugs out of prisons, but recognizes that contraband inevitably finds its way to inmates.

Source — National Post

August 15, 2019

Canada: Ontario prison farms making a comeback

News

North America Canada

Two federal prison farms in the Kingston, Ont., area are getting up and running again after the former Conservative government shelved the program in 2010.

Source — CBC

August 5, 2019

Canada: new music project allows women to tell their stories from prison

News

Culture North America Women Activities Canada

Singing My Way Home pilot project helps female inmates in Miramichi compose their own songs.

Source — CBC

July 18, 2019

Canada: santé mentale en prison, « une fabrique d’itinérance »

News

North America Health Mental health Canada

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

June 9, 2019

Canada: un premier centre d'injection supervisée dans une prison canadienne

News

North America Drugs Canada

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

May 21, 2019

Canada: new course trains yoga instructors to teach in Canadian prisons

News

North America Canada

Hot yoga, prenatal yoga, yoga in the park: Since coming to the West, the increasingly popular practice of yoga has taken a kaleidoscopic number of forms. Now a new training course in Vancouver is helping it flourish in another arena: prisons.

Source — The Globe and Mail

February 28, 2019

Canadian prison ombudsman says end-of-life needs of older prisoners not being met

News

Canada

Older, long-serving inmates are being “warehoused” in Canadian prisons not equipped to handle end-of-life care, Canada’s prison watchdog says.

Source — The Globe and the Mail