WHAT’S THE MORE FITTING DESCRIPTIVE FOR OUR FEDERAL/PROVINCIAL PRISON INDUSTRIES?

THE PROVINCES……

The Supreme Court of Canada broke with a 1990 precedent on March 14 this year when it strengthened the rights of provincial jail inmates.  Toronto Star justice reporter David Ebner wrote that inmates who face major institutional charges such as assaults are now guaranteed the presumption of innocence in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Previously, that SCOC 1990 precedent ruled that inmate disciplinary hearings were not criminal in nature and didn’t warrant Charter protection.  Prisoners accused of breaking the rules were judged by a so-called balance of probability, whether it is more likely than not they committed the offence, which is a lower standard of proof than beyond a reasonable doubt.

Some legal scholars were concerned with the Courts move away from precedent and wondered how that might impact other precedents.  Chief Justice Richard Wagner said that departing from precedent “should not be taken lightly,” but he declared the 1990 ruling is no longer binding.  One of the outcomes for inmates found guilty of disciplinary offences can be segregation, and we now take a harsher view of that form of punishment.  Ergo, proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt “applies to person behind the walls of correctional institutions who are charged with disciplinary offences.”

This began in Saskatchewan where the John Howard Society challenge was first heard, but this ruling will echo through all provinces and territories.  “This is a huge victory for prisoner rights,” according to Samara Secter, a lawyer with Toronto’s Addario Law Group LLP, representing intervenor Queen’s Prison Law Clinic.  “A prison is not a Charter-free zone,” she added.

So now, with that written into the law of the land, it is left to see how that “huge victory for prisoner rights” is put into practice.

A LOOK AT ONTARIO (1)

Toronto South Detention Centre opened in 2014 as a maximum-security super jail, a replacement for 3 decommissioned Toronto-area provincial jails.  From the beginning, it’s been regularly condemned by judges for its harsh conditions including findings that the conditions are “inhumane” and the result of “deliberate state misconduct.”

Judges frequently reduce the sentences offenders receive as a counter to jail management and staff workers routine use of segregation, restrictive confinement, lockdowns and “time in cell” punishments that raise human rights concerns.  There are systemic issues to maintaining family and community contacts, and intentional obstructions to meetings with lawyers and court-ordered assessments.  Public health concerns arise related to infrequent changes of bedding and clothing, outbreaks of scabies, triple-bunked cells, and improperly cooked food.  And all, as can be expected, leading to increased violence among frustrated inmates.

The Ontario government appears unconcerned, unaware and oblivious to the chaos.  Even uncaring.  One can question whether the conditions are allowed to prevail because no one, including jail superintendents, are held accountable.

So much for prisoners’ rights.

A LOOK AT ONTARIO (2)

He’s a doozy……a humdinger Ontario wants to cover up.

“Correctional officers at an Ontario jail are being accused of carrying out a brutal act of collective punishment against dozens of inmates in an incident that is now impacting court cases across the province.”

This is Toronto Star investigative reporter Brendan Kennedy’s opening to his exposé in the August 12, 2024, issue of the paper.  It’s been titled, ‘Torturing us as payback’:  Inside the disturbing allegations of how Ontario jail guards exacted their revenge against inmates.

Better to read his detailed report, link below.

https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/torturing-us-as-payback-inside-the-disturbing-allegations-of-how-ontario-jail-guards-exacted-their/article_0286cc24-5671-11ef-b32d-9394cf9702a4.html

(Ed. note: If the link fails, key into your browser, “Toronto Star – torturing us as payback”)

As a follow-up published on February 26 this year and updated on March 7, is, Judge slams jail guards’ ‘disgusting and gross’ treatment of prisoners at Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton.
What’s called the deck (or sub-headline) goes on, Some jail officials testifying on behalf of the Crown seemed to have “suffered amnesia” about the incident, judge added.

Again, the link offers the relevant specifics.

https://www.thestar.com/news/judge-slams-jail-guards-disgusting-and-gross-treatment-of-prisoners-at-maplehurst-correctional-complex-in/article_9f6fe53e-f3ba-11ef-9c29-f31cf044a67c.html

(Ed. note:  If the link fails, key into your browser, “Toronto Star – judge slam jail guards”)

The difference between this and the daily routine in our provincial jails is the scale of the December, 2023, operation.  We can be assured that the ministry investigations by the Solicitor General and Attorney General will focus on how this could get so out of hand that it came to the public’s attention.  The chances that any Maplehurst management or staff will be held accountable in a substantive way is remote.

How many times, in how many ways, can the call go out?  WE NEED OPCAT!

SOLEIMAN AND KENNETH WERE BOTH MURDERED.
Ken’s killers were teenaged girls.  They were charged.
Soli’s killers were uniformed jail guards.  They’re free!
HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN?

It’s been just over a year since the last entry here questioned Ontario’s justification for the murder of Soleiman Faqiri by its own employees.  Ontario’s solicitor general needed a reminder that this is not going away.

March 9, 2025

The Honourable Michael Kerzner, Solicitor General,
Office of the Solicitor General,
Toronto, ON  M7A 1Y6

Re:      Soleiman Faqiri

Minister Kerzner:

Kenneth Lee, a 59-year-old temporarily homeless man on Toronto’s streets, was swarmed and killed in December of 2022 by 8 girls, ages 13 to 16.  All were arrested and charged.  The Court has rendered judgements to some of the accused; some are pending.  There’s no question all the teenagers were considered culpable and there was no hesitation in bringing the charges.

Soleiman Faqiri, a 30-year-old schizophrenic in distress, was swarmed and killed by a group of jail guards at Lindsay’s Central East Correctional Centre in December of 2016.  Referencing my January 29, 2024, letter to you, the most important question in determining what lead to Soleiman’s death was and still is why were guards in his cell?  It should offend you as the province’s solicitor general, as it does me, that no one seems to want to ask the question.

An inquest late in 2023 ruled Soleiman’s death a homicide and made 57 recommendations which the Faqiri family insists have been basically ignored.  The two most important to Yusuf Faqiri, Soleiman’s eldest brother and leader of the Justice for Soli movement, in one instance gave Ontario 60 days to acknowledge that jails are not appropriate for persons with mental health challenges.  The other was the adoption of an independent (at arm’s length) inspectorate with investigative powers to hold the system accountable.  Not a whisper from Ontario on either.

So, Ontario is brushing off the recommendations of this inquest as it has with previous inquests.  Still, what’s most important is why the killers of Soleiman Faqiri have not been charged?  That’s the first question looking for an honest answer.  That answer won’t be forthcoming.  Soleiman’s death under these circumstances wasn’t the first.  It isn’t the last.  More will come.

A few years ago, an Ontario judge cautioned a plaintiff bringing an action against our federal prison industry.  “Be careful,” he said.  “They protect their own.”

Ontario, too?

The 8^th annual vigil for Soleiman on December 15^th, the anniversary of his death, included a range of speakers, supporters such as Senator Kim Pate, MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam, MPP Sara James, and Imam Yasin Dwyer, along with several community activists.

A private member’s bill intending to stop the criminalization of mental health is co-sponsored by Kristyn Wong-Tam.  The Justice for Soli Act (Bill 196) died on the order paper after its first reading when the Ontario legislature was prorogued for an election.  It will be re-tabled when the House is recalled.  Private members bills usually fail, but win or lose, this will help keep Soleiman’s name current.

The government’s settlement with the family was intended to buy silence and there may be provisions which inhibit speech and action.  ‘Please go away’ is the message from Queen’s Park.  Nonetheless, the Faqiri family and its followers will continue to insist that Ontario apologize for its negligence and the guards who killed Soleiman must be held criminally accountable.

How did this happen?