Millhaven’s Visitor Review Board wouldn’t respond (December 23 posting)…..
…..and we pointed that out!

January 16, 2019

Visitor Review Board,
Millhaven Institution,
Bath, ON K0H 1G0

Re: Suspension of PFV’s & visiting sanction at Millhaven Institution

Visitor Review Board:

Your November 29 letter over Correctional Manager D. Payette’s signature did not address the substance of my November 12 letter, noting only that it was presented to the VRB, read, and then placed in Brennan Guigue’s visiting file. You were also dismissive of what Brennan Guigue had to say when he attended the November 14 Board meeting.

That is not acceptable.

When, as your letter read, “During processing, there was a positive indication on one of our Drug Screening Tools,” why were the police not involved? If I was presumed to be carrying drugs, bringing in the police was a next step to recover contraband, to be followed by a press release on the CSC web site announcing a seizure at Millhaven Institution.

Why were the police not called on November 9? The involved party/parties at Millhaven knew there was no ‘package’ to find. There was no press release in the offing. Simply, the cancellation of this visit was the objective. Moreover, my visit was cancelled before I arrived at the prison on Friday morning; it was only a matter of logistics after I checked in. I know that. Brennan Guigue knows that. My circle in the community at large knows that.

The Millhaven Visitor Review Board approval of PFV’s represents the one opportunity where my son and I can spend time together, given my circumstances, and that was considered in your deliberations. In spite of the institution’s reputation in the community, my only concern on that Friday morning was doing without some of the supports that help get me through the day because of what V & C doesn’t allow into a PFV.

If interests at Millhaven don’t like my advocacy and activism over many decades, so be it. If those same interests don’t like Brennan Guigue’s insistence that our prison system and its employees comply with policy, so be it. So be it that I don’t like CSC practice that runs contrary to directives, or that my public servants use ministerial mandates as toilet paper. No matter. When Millhaven management approves a PFV application, Millhaven employees up and down the line have no choice but to accommodate.

I was polite, compliant and respectful on November 9 when I had good reason not to be. But then, the VRB “visiting sanction” specified in your November 29 letter endorsed staff misconduct and discredited CSC’s public face. Given that, why would I make the effort to return to Millhaven, only to again risk interference by a conflicting agenda?

PFV’s are my sole available avenue to normalize a relationship with my son, and they are a priority. However, your insistence on listening only to your own counsel challenges prospects for future visits.

I’ll be weighing my options judiciously.

…..copied to Millhaven staffers, regional, national and senior Ottawa management. Responses?
Not likely.
And if necessary, more is waiting in the wings.