Canada
Seen in the press
Read our selection of press reports about this country. This is a short description of prison conditions on a national scale. It gives an account of the preceding year’s events.
Canada: why prisoners are participating in the US Prison Strike
Much of the US prison system’s distinguishing features — massive racial disparities, the exploitation of prisoners’ labor by private firms, overcrowding, brutality, and much more — are the same in Canada.Source — Jacobin
Canada: nearly half of youth incarcerated across the country are Indigenous
Nearly half of all youth who end up in custody across Canada are Indigenous, a statistic that a Manitoba activist says shows unacceptable and systemic racism.Source — Warrior Publications
Canada : les cellules d’isolement des détenus contestées devant la Cour
This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.Source — RCI
Canada: former watchdog: Mental health needs of women in prison not being met
“I don’t agree that it’s society’s fault”. The Royal should never have accepted an acutely ill inmate like Marlene Carter at its Brockville Mental Health Centre as part of a contract it had with Correctional Service Canada, says retired Conservative Senator Bob RuncimanSource — Ottawa Sun
Canada's legally innocent prisoners are dying in jail
Nearly 270 people have died in Canadian provincial jails over the past five years. Two-thirds of them were legally innocent.Source — Huffington Post
Canada: suicide attempts spike amid Ontario prison system overhaul
At a time when Ontario prison officials have vowed to take a more humane approach to inmate care, the province has recorded a significant rise in the number of suicide attempts in its correctional facilities. Over the past decade, provincial institutions have averaged 106 suicide attempts a calenda…Source — The Globe and Mail
Canada: l’isolement dans les prisons canadiennes sera limité à 15 jours
This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.Source — Le Devoir
Canada: liberal government to impose 15-day limits on solitary confinement
Nearly a decade after teenager Ashley Smith died by self-strangulation in a solitary confinement cell, the Liberal government has introduced a bill that would place new restrictions on indefinite solitary confinement in federal prisons but falls short of the expectations of some prison-rights advoc…Source — The Globe and Mail
Canada: 13-man riot at Regina jail injures 2, causes more than $100K in damage
A riot involving 13 inmates erupted at Regina Provincial Correctional Centre on Thursday night, injuring two people and causing more than $100,000 in damage.Source — CBC News
Canada: justice system re-victimises indigenous women
Another week. Another investigation into allegations that a sexual assault victim has been treated like a criminal. No doubt this one too will result in solemn mea culpas and a pledge to do better.Source — Winnipeg Free Press
Canada: number of federal inmates who self-harm tripled in last decade
The number of inmates in federal prisons who intentionally harm themselves has more than tripled over the past decade, spiking again last year, prompting Canada’s correctional investigator to call for changes to ensure such prisoners are treated as patients who require medical care.Source — The Globe and Mail
Canada’s prison agency closes in on new solitary confinement rules
Canada’s prison agency is close to establishing new rules that would prohibit the placement of vulnerable people in solitary confinement and increase the time segregated inmates can spend out of cells.Source — The Globe and Mail
Canada: number of prison workers suffering from PTSD much higher than official stats, union says
Approximately 1 in 20 employees at federal penitentiaries have been diagnosed with stress injuriesSource — CBC News
Canada: Ontario vows to act on solitary confinement limits in new report
Ontario’s prisons adviser has laid out a plan that would catapult the province’s prison system from a national laggard to one of the most progressive in the world by placing hard limits on the use of solitary confinement and prohibiting the segregation of vulnerable prisoner populations.Source — The Globe and Mail
Canada: Justice ministers craft plan to unclog court systems
Elimination of some minimum mandatory sentences and reform of bail system will be under reviewSource — CBC News
What it’s really like to spend time in a Canadian prison
I was 5’9“, weighed less than 160 pounds, and I didn’t know how I was going to make it in the pen.Source — Vice
Québec : plus de violence et de suicides en prison
This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.Source — Journal de Québec
Canada: Ontario faces lawsuit over solitary-confinement practices
Ontario is facing a $600-million lawsuit on behalf of thousands of mentally ill inmates who have served time in solitary confinement since 1985, yet another addition to a glut of litigation currently facing governments in the country over their handling of prisoners in isolation.Source — The Globe and Mail
Canada: Ontario ombudsman calls for sweeping changes to inmate segregation
Ombudsman’s probe was launched after inmate Adam Capay was held in segregation for 4 yearsSource — CBC News
Canada: prison watchdog sees sharp decline in use of solitary confinement
Correctional investigator Ivan Zinger notes positive penitentiary trends in report.Source — CBC
Canada : visiter des prisons pour éviter d'y être détenu un jour
This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.Source — Radio-Canada.ca
Canada: family doctors push to ban solitary confinement in prisons
Canada’s family doctors are calling for an all-out ban on the use of solitary confinement in Canadian prisons.Source — The Globe and Mail
Canada: conjugal visits increase success of prisoner rehabilitation
It looks like a normal three-bedroom family home. A ceiling fan whirrs over a pair of sofas in the living room. The hallway shelves carry a pile of bed sheets. A refrigerator hums quietly in the kitchen as sunlight peaks in through a curtained window.Source — CTV News
Canada : job training program for inmates stuck in the past, says prison watchdog
Teaching inmates to build office chairs and sew isn’t preparing those incarcerated in federal institutions for the modern job market, says Canada’s prison watchdog.Source — CBC News