Canada’s Prison Systems: A Comprehensive Overview

Canada’s Prison Systems: A Human Rights Crisis

Introduction

• Mass incarceration is a crisis often associated with the U.S., but it is also a significant issue in Canada.
• Canadian prisons have been referred to as the 'new residential schools' due to their disproportionate impact on Indigenous populations.

Incarceration Rates and Facilities

• In Ontario, there are eight national correctional facilities (for sentences of two years or more) and numerous provincial facilities, including detention centers, jails, and correctional centers (for sentences up to two years less a day or those awaiting trial).
• In 2016, Canada's crime rates were at a 45-year low, yet incarceration rates were at an all-time high, indicating a paradoxical trend.
• Many people are unaware of the number of prisons and jails located near their communities.

Remand (Pre-Trial Detention)

• A significant portion of incarcerated individuals in Canada are on remand, meaning they are legally innocent while awaiting trial.
• Remand rates are rising, particularly in Ontario and Manitoba.
• In Ontario, the percentage of remanded prisoners increased by 15% from 2000/2001 to 65% in 2014/2015.
• Black and Indigenous individuals, as well as those who are homeless or unemployed, are disproportionately denied bail and held on remand.
• A 1995 report highlighted that Black individuals were more likely to be detained pre-trial compared to white individuals, a reality that persists.
• Individuals held on remand are less likely to be acquitted if they plead not guilty at trial.
• Access to educational programming and vocational training is limited for prisoners on remand.
• Detention centers, which house a high number of remand prisoners, are often maximum security, overcrowded, and understaffed.

Overrepresentation of Racialized Communities

• The overrepresentation of racialized communities in Canadian prisons reflects racial profiling and over-policing.
• In 2015-2016, Indigenous people made up 26% and Black people 9% of the federal prison population, despite comprising only 4.3% and 2.8% of the general population, respectively.
• Between 2005 and 2016, the federal incarceration rate of Black people in Canada increased by 70%.
• Indigenous women are the fastest-growing prison population, representing over 35% of the federal population of women prisoners.
• Black people were 3.2 times more likely to be carded (stopped and documented by police) in Toronto than white people between 2009 and 2010.
• Data on race and police interactions is often not collected or is actively suppressed by Canadian police departments.
• LGBTQ2S prisoners of color face compounded issues of overrepresentation.

Education and Vocational Training

• Investment in education and vocational training is more effective at reducing recidivism than longer sentences or intensive surveillance.
• A UCLA study found that a $1 million$ investment in prison education prevents more crimes than the same investment in incarceration ($600$ vs. $350$).
• A 2013 report indicated that formerly incarcerated people who participated in education programs had 43% lower rates of rearrest.
• Each dollar spent on prison education translates to $4$ dollars of cost savings in the first 3 years post-release.
• The annual cost to incarcerate one man is $111,202$, with only $2950$ spent on education per prisoner.
• "Re-entry" programs may not eliminate systemic barriers faced by working-class communities and communities of color.
• Incarcerated people have a right to education, but those on remand often lack access.
• Educational opportunities in Ontario are not legally mandated, and access is limited for prisoners on remand.
• Religion and addiction support programs are the most consistently implemented programs in Ontario’s detention centers.
• There is limited publicly available data on access to educational programming or educational spending in Ontario's correctional facilities.
• The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) is not adequately addressing the educational needs of prisoners, 75% of whom lack a high school diploma.
• In 2015-2016, the CSC cut their educational spending by 10%.
• Canada lacks grants similar to the Pell Grants in the U.S. to support prisoners pursuing education upon release.

Prisoner Wages and CORCAN Program

• Federally sentenced inmates' maximum daily payment of $6.90$ was set over 30 years ago.
• Prisoners working in the CORCAN program (producing goods and services for the government) or in institutional roles earn a maximum of $6.90$ per day.
• Matt Torigian, the Ontario Deputy Minister, made $620.79$ in one day in 2016, which would take a prisoner at least $318$ days to earn.
• While the Deputy Minister received significant raises, prisoners' wages have been frozen since 1981.
• In 2013, the federal government began deducting 30% from prisoners' wages and removed incentive pay.
• Less than 9% of prisoners earn the maximum amount of $6.90$, with the average before deductions being only $3 per day$.
• Prisoners can reach the maximum amount only after a year of excellent performance.

Use of Force

• Unnecessary and excessive force is frequently used against Canadian prisoners, particularly against racialized inmates and those with mental health issues.
• Use of force includes inflammatory agents (pepper spray), physical handling, restraint equipment, batons, weapons, or firearms.
• There was a 22% increase in use of force incidents in federal institutions from 2014-2015 to 2015-2016 (1800 incidents).
• 30% of use of force incidents involved Indigenous inmates and 18% involved Black inmates.
• 36.6% of incidents involved inmates with an identified mental health issue.
• A 2013 investigation revealed excessive violence against inmates with mental illness in Ontario, with correctional staff colluding to hide abusive behavior.

Solitary Confinement (Segregation)

• In November 2016, 22 prisoners in Ontario had been in solitary confinement for over a year, with 5 for over three years.
• Segregation involves physical and social isolation for 22-24 hours a day.
• In 2016, there were 575 people in segregation in Ontario, with 70% on remand.
• The lack of a precise definition of segregation makes it difficult to accurately count those in solitary confinement.
• Behaviour Management Units at Toronto South confine prisoners to their cells for 22.5 hours per day.
• Adam Capay's experience in segregation involved a Plexiglas-lined cell with artificial light 24 hours a day.
• The Ombudsman of Ontario has called for a clear definition of segregation based on conditions rather than unit names.
• A class action lawsuit has been filed against the Attorney General of Canada for the over-reliance on solitary confinement and inadequate healthcare for mentally ill prisoners.
• The federal government announced a new 15-day cap for solitary confinement, to be implemented after an 18-month transition period, but advocates demand a total ban.

Lockdowns

• Excessive lockdowns (confinement to cells for up to 24 hours) have led to a class action lawsuit against the Government of Ontario.
• One plaintiff believes his post-release PTSD and anxiety were caused by lockdowns at Maplehurst Correctional Complex.
• Lockdowns at Toronto South could last from one day to two weeks, with the institution locked down approximately 75% of the time.
• Staffing-related lockdowns have been an issue at Toronto South since its opening in 2014.
• A security official testified that there are no provincial policies limiting the use of lockdowns.
• Frequent lockdowns at Toronto South have led to prisoner hunger strikes.

Mental Health

• 27.6% of the incarcerated population has an identified mental health need, compared to about 10% in the general population (2012).
• Suicide accounts for about 20% of all deaths in custody each year.
• Prisoners with a history of self-harm are more likely to be placed in solitary confinement.
• Segregation is a harsh, punitive environment and a risk factor for suicide.
• Correctional Service Canada stopped producing Annual Inmate Suicide Reports in 2011.
• The United Nations Special Rapporteur has declared solitary confinement exceeding 15 days and solitary confinement of mentally ill prisoners a violation of international human rights law.

Review Questions

1. Why are criminologists calling Canadian prisons the “new residential schools”?
2. How many people are incarcerated in Canada?
3. What is ‘remand’? What percentage of prisoners were remanded in 2014/15?
4. What percentage of prisoners on average are Indigenous? What percentage are Black”? What percent of the population do each of these groups represent?
5. According to studies, what impact would a $1million$ investment in incarceration achieve? The same investment in prison education?
6. How do educational programs in prisons influence recidivism?
7. What is the cost of incarcerating a man? A woman? How much of this is spent on education?
8. What percentage of inmates do not have high school diploma?
9. What is the Corcan program? How much do prisoners make working in this program?
10. In 2016, how many prisoners had been in solitary confinement for at least a year?
11. Describe the Behavioural Management Units at the Toronto South Detention Centre?
12. What percentage of inmates have an identified mental illness?
13. What in this article surprises you the most?