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| Jeffrey Hartman |
The CPLA notes that the position taken by Department of Justice lawyers representing CSC in litigation needlessly and unfairly disregards the legislation and/or Charter rights of people in prison, and the long-term broader interests of Canadians. We will encourage the Ministry to consider how counsel are instructed when responding to litigation brought by some of the most marginalized members of Canada.
This squares with my experience. Now, bear in mind I only deal with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its capacity of defending the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). Maybe DOJ operates differently elsewhere. However, in my experience, DOJ has little to no control over CSC. When clients give me counterproductive or downright insane instructions, I invite them to find another lawyer. It is, after all, the role of a lawyer to work towards the just, most expeditious and least expensive determination of proceedings on their merits. That does not happen when DOJ gives CSC control.
Moving on, Marc Miller, minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, said recently that people like Eric Dejaeger “should rot in jail.” Dejaeger was convicted of 32 counts of sexually abusing people including children in Igloolik, Nunavut. Horrible crimes, no doubt. Miller continued:
In a democracy such as ours, it's actually a good thing that people like me don’t decide over people's life and death. … You have to trust in the system that is one of the best in the world, but hearing these things is deeply troubling, and my heart goes out to the survivors and those this person hurt.
Miller seems rather unknowledgeable of Canada’s prison system. How does he believe our prison and parole system is one of the best in the world? Marc, pick a Canadian prison and visit it, you will literally see people rotting — rotting with open sores — from lack of very basic health care. Every single day my phone rings and I hear about this. Given your specific role, the tenure of your government and its failure to actually do anything to curb the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in Canadian prisons, I would have thought you’d be more attuned to Canadian prison conditions.
Next, CSC correctional officers have been wearing Thin Blue Line patches on their uniforms. The CPLA brought this to CSC commissioner Anne Kelly’s attention in early May 2022. On June 8, Kelly stated:
Following ongoing discussions with the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, I am pleased to report that, at the time of writing this response, Correctional Officers have resumed wearing their uniform properly.
CSC continues to communicate to staff the importance of how they present themselves in uniform and of promoting an image that conveys professionalism to both Canadians and the inmates under our care and custody.
Kelly also confirmed these officers were disciplined although the nature of the discipline was not specified.
Think about this for a moment. It took a critical mass of prisoners to complain to a critical mass of prison lawyers who in turn complained enough to the CPLA which in turn complained to commissioner Kelly for anything to happen. During that time, no one on the ground at CSC said or did anything about the Thin Blue Line patches? Perhaps I have incomplete information; if so, I would welcome a fulsome description of actual concrete steps taken by CSC exclusive of the CPLA’s initiative.
Lastly for today, the auditor general’s recent report finding that CSC hasn’t acted to combat systemic racism towards BIPOC prisoners comes as a surprise to absolutely no one. From the Globe and Mail:
For two decades, reports and recommendations from watchdogs, government commissions and academics have called attention to the problem. The Auditor-General’s findings follow a Globe and Mail investigation from 2020 that showed Correctional Service Canada’s risk-assessment tools — standardized tests designed to measure a prisoner’s risk to public safety and odds of reoffending — were systemically biased against Black and Indigenous men and Indigenous women.
Auditor general Karen Hogan said she is frustrated and discouraged with CSC, but that her office will keep monitoring the agency. It is also up to Parliament, she said, to hold CSC to account in order to ensure there is meaningful change. “It is long past due that Black and Indigenous offenders have outcomes that are better than they’re experiencing right now,” she said.
Correctional Investigator Ivan Zinger said that given CSC’s poor track record in addressing these systemic barriers, Mendicino and his department should expressly direct the prison agency and manage it to ensure these reforms. “A significant departure needs to take place for the situation to change,” he said.
Auditor general Karen Hogan said she is frustrated and discouraged with CSC, but that her office will keep monitoring the agency. It is also up to Parliament, she said, to hold CSC to account in order to ensure there is meaningful change. “It is long past due that Black and Indigenous offenders have outcomes that are better than they’re experiencing right now,” she said.
Correctional Investigator Ivan Zinger said that given CSC’s poor track record in addressing these systemic barriers, Mendicino and his department should expressly direct the prison agency and manage it to ensure these reforms. “A significant departure needs to take place for the situation to change,” he said.
At this point, is anyone expecting anything to change? I am not hopeful.
Jeffrey Hartman is a Toronto-based criminal lawyer at Hartman Law, with a special focus on prison and police law. You can reach him at jeff@hartmanlaw.ca or call 416-316-2234.
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