I'll be going first. Cara will come in a little bit later.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members.
When we raise concerns about solitary confinement, this is not an abstract discussion. We are expressing concern about the harms caused to human beings by the practice of extreme isolation.
These harms are well established by experts and were recognized by courts. Associate Chief Justice Marrocco found that the effect of isolation and prolonged isolation include—I won't even give you the whole list—hopelessness, depression, confusion, hallucinations and delusions, re-traumatizing of women and eroding of their self-worth, rage, loss of control, self-mutilation, declines in mental functioning, a sense of impending emotional breakdown and a vicious cycle in which a prisoner's extreme behaviour and acting-out leads to an increase in physical altercations with prison staff—frustrating them both, and of course leading to further isolation.
Fifteen consecutive days of isolation poses a serious risk, the court found, of permanent, observable, negative mental health effects. It's because of these harms to people that courts in B.C. and Ontario found the current administrative segregation regime to be unconstitutional and have ordered change. In order for Canada to uphold the law—as it is its duty to do—and obey the court orders, a new law must prohibit indefinite or prolonged solitary confinement, however it's called, and it should not exceed 15 days. It should prohibit placing people with mental illness and/or disabilities in solitary, and it should ensure the use of solitary doesn't discriminate against indigenous persons, as it currently does.
Bill C-83 does not include these protections.
Both Ontario and B.C. courts noted the absence of independent oversight and independent review. This is critically necessary, because a strong, external independent review process could help build public trust and ensure that prisons are obeying the law, that inmates are not being placed in isolation unless in absolutely necessary and exceptional circumstances, that no one is held in prolonged solitary, that indigenous individuals receive sensitive and culturally appropriate programming, and that a person who is mentally decompensating receives treatment rather than being left alone to deteriorate.
Any new law should also prohibit solitary for people under the age of 21 and people in need of protection. There is no justification to impose this status, whatever it's called, on young and vulnerable inmates.
The costs of isolation are not just to the individual but to correctional staff who have to manage individuals who are losing their grip on reality or their ability to control their reactions. It has a cost to our society, because people complete their sentences and are going to be reintegrated. The rehabilitation of inmates so that they are able to reintegrate requires an investment of resources in our correctional system. We need clear legislative protections, and this investment of resources is critical to making our society in Canada safer. As complex as it may appear, there are significant tools available for reform—real, implemented, effective alternatives as well as countless recommendations, models, reports and legislative blueprints. My colleague Cara will speak to some of them in a moment.
Justice Arbour's report is over 20 years old. The Ashley Smith jury inquest, with its 104 recommendations, is five years old. Two commissioned expert reports on segregation and corrections from Ontario are extremely recent.
I'll take a minute to talk about the U.K. prison system, which is up and running. They have all but eliminated solitary. Individuals there needing protection or supervision are placed in smaller units appropriate to their needs, to their population, and only the most exceptional of cases are kept in the special closed-supervision units. Of a prison population of roughly 85,000, approximately 60 men and zero women are held in this special unit.
As Senator Pate was saying, if we want to deal with extreme isolation of inmates, changing the sign will not create the change or provide sufficient relief to people held alone in tiny cells with mesh on the windows and a tiny concrete yard. What defines the experience of solitary is extreme isolation, which causes the harms discussed above. This bill, or this act, needs to be amended to say that any protections provided must be for anybody held in those circumstances of isolation. “Solitary” needs to be defined in the law.
Of course, any relief for people in those circumstances is better than no relief, including time out of cell, including human contact, but I note that there are enormous exceptions under proposed section 37, each of which is subject to possible overuse or misuse, and documentation and oversight are critically necessary to ensure that does not happen.
In addition, the broad language of proposed paragraph 37(1)(c) could exclude a huge number of people who would therefore be held in extreme isolation without four hours out of cell or two hours of human contact.
In any event, isolation is still practised and it would still be the order of the day. If some people believe that administrative segregation is necessary as a measure of last resort to be used in exceptional circumstances—say in the event of a riot—this bill is doing the very opposite. It is institutionalizing and attempting to justify isolation as an ordinary prison practice. Canada can do better.
It is a far cry from the kind of prison reform that we need and that we deserve for our safety and for our well-being. We need it as well because not only will it reduce harms, financial and mental, to inmates and to correctional staff, but it will be better for our society as well.
I'll add one more word before I turn it over to Cara.
For meaningful reform, which Canada needs, there has to be a meaningful process. None of the organizations that challenged this law successfully in court were invited to consult on the bill before it was introduced. I note with strong objection the absence of key indigenous rights groups from these committee hearings, including Aboriginal Legal Services and the Native Women's Association of Canada—both of whom asked to appear—despite the fact that indigenous individuals are overrepresented in solitary and that this bill has a section dedicated to indigenous offenders.
People's mental health is at stake. People's lives are at stake. This is no time for a slapdash attempt at a band-aid solution. I echo Senator Pate's proposal that there be a repeal of the bill and a proper effort at reform. Canada has had plenty of time and needs to do this properly.
I turn it over now to my colleague Cara to share some remarks on recent work in Ontario and possible alternatives.
