Suchergebnisse

"Built around the experiences of older prisoners, Punished for Aging looks at the challenges individuals face in Canadian penitentiaries and their struggles for justice. Through firsthand accounts and quantitative data drawn from extensive interviews, this book brings forward the experiences of federally incarcerated people living their "golden years" behind bars. These experiences show the limited ability of the system to respond to heightened needs, while also raising questions about how international and national laws and policies are applied, and why they fail to ensure the safety and well-being of incarcerated individuals. In so doing, Adelina Iftene explores the shortcomings of institutional processes, prison-monitoring mechanisms, and legal remedies available in courts and tribunals, which leave prisoners vulnerable to rights abuses. Some of the problems addressed in this book are not new; however, the demographic shift and the increase in people dying in prisons after long, inadequately addressed illnesses, with few release options, adds a renewed sense of urgency to reform. Working from the interview data, contextualized by participants' lived experiences, and building on previous work, Iftene seeks solutions for such reform, which would constitute a significant step forward not only in protecting older prisoners, but in consolidating the status of incarcerated individuals as holders of substantive rights."--

The importance of preventing outbreaks in prisons during a pandemic, such as COVID-19, cannot be overstated. The risk of the infection spreading rapidly once inside these institutions is much higher than in the community, due to the underlying vulnerabilities of prison populations and the congregated living nature of prisons. This article documents the Nova Scotia provincial prison system's experience in dealing with COVID-19 during the first wave, including its uniquely swift decarceration efforts. One goal of this investigation is to identify a set of best practices that can help Canadian prisons systems with their short-term responses to crisis in a manner that is compliant with both international and national public health policies and human rights. Another goal of this investigation, based on the systemic weaknesses highlighted by the pandemic, is to advance longerterm recommendations that would improve the criminal justice system and help maintain lower levels of incarceration. On ne saurait trop insister sur l'importance de la prévention des épidémies dans les prisons lors d'une pandémie telle que celle de la COVID-19. Le risque que l'infection se propage rapidement une fois à l'intérieur de ces institutions est beaucoup plus élevé que dans la collectivité, en raison des vulnérabilités sousjacentes des populations carcérales et de la nature de la vie en prison. Dans cet article, nous faisons état de l'expérience vécue dans le système pénitentiaire provincial de la Nouvelle-Écosse face à la COVID-19 lors de la première vague, y compris les efforts déployés en vue d'une mise en liberté plus rapide. L'un des objectifs de cette enquête est d'identifier un ensemble de bonnes pratiques qui peuvent aider les systèmes pénitentiaires canadiens à réagir à court terme à la crise d'une manière qui soit conforme aux politiques de santé publique nationales et internationales ainsi qu'au respect des droits de la personne. Un autre objectif de cette enquête, basé sur les faiblesses systémiques mises en évidence par la pandémie, est de proposer des recommandations à plus long terme qui amélioreraient le système de justice pénale et contribueraient à maintenir des niveaux d'incarcération plus bas.

Abusive uses of Structured Intervention Units and the Correctional Service's conduct mean Parliament must get rid of SIUs or adopt Senate amendments.

Abusive uses of Structured Intervention Units and the Correctional Service's conduct mean Parliament must get rid of SIUs or adopt Senate amendments.

Inmates have died because of COVID-19, despite many early warnings to take action. Canada must learn from its failures and enact sweeping re-forms.

COVID-19 is a match in a tinderbox created by years of overcrowding in appalling conditions in our prisons. We have a responsibility to do better.

The Liberal government should accept an amended version of its solitary confinement bill rather than waste time and face another Charter challenge.

On June 13, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruled in Ewert v Canada [2018 SCC 30] that by assessing the risk level presented by Indigenous prisoners with tools verified only on non-Indigenous individuals, Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) failed to meet their statutory duty under s. 24 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) to utilize only accurate information in their risk assessments. The Court stated that CSC has a duty to account for the systemic discrimination Indigenous people undergo in the criminal justice system, in general, and in prisons, in particular. However, the SCC found that, despite utilizing tools that may be discriminatory towards Indigenous individuals, there was no violation of Charter rights. This result perpetuates an ugly truth about Canada's democracy: constitutional protection does not apply the same to everyone.