Prison law group calls for inquiry into Edmonton facility
EDMONTON – A Canadian lawyers’ association is calling for a public inquiry into Edmonton’s maximum security men’s prison, saying it could help reveal why the facility is a “dangerous” place for both inmates and staff.
The Canadian Prison
Law Association (CPLA), which represents around 65 lawyers across the country, asked the federal public safety ministry Thursday to appoint a commission into the problem-plagued Edmonton Institution.
“Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” said CPLA president Tom Engel, an Edmonton defence lawyer. “I think what has to happen is the public has to become aware of what exactly is going on at the Edmonton Institution and why it persists. The only way to do that is through a public inquiry.”
Edmonton Institution has for years been beset by toxic workplace allegations and claims of prisoner abuse. In September 2017, Correctional Service Canada launched an investigation into alleged staff misconduct at the facility, which houses more than 300 inmates.
The following year, Correctional Service Canada revealed 11 staff members had either quit, been suspended or fired as a result of the investigation. One former correctional officer was criminally charged with the sexual assault of a colleague — charges that were eventually withdrawn.
Postmedia later obtained the results of an internal Correctional Service Canada survey, in which 17 Edmonton Institution employees reported having been sexually assaulted by a co-worker.
This February, correctional investigator Ivan Zinger’s said in his annual report that the toxic workplace at Edmonton Institution has continued to fester. He said the environment extended to prisoners, noting Edmonton Institution was Canada’s worst prison for inmate-on-inmate assaults, inmate self-harm, and use of force incidents by guards.
Engel said whatever form the inquiry takes, it would be able to subpoena witnesses, who would then have to testify in public under oath — features CSC’s internal investigations have not had.
He said the correctional investigator’s reports on Edmonton Institution have been revelatory, but added all Zinger is able to do is “negotiate, cajole (and) persuade.”
“The people who run the Edmonton Institution I think have learned nothing is going to be done to force them to change … and they can just carry on business as usual with no consequences,” Engel said.
Past inquiries into prison conditions have led to significant reforms. The Arbour Commission, which probed unrest at the Kingston Prison For Women, is widely credited with overhauling women’s corrections.
The government launched the inquiry after the CBC obtained video of an all-male tactical team strip searching a group of female prisoners. “Many people were outraged by what they saw,” a CSC history of the inquiry reads.
Sen. Kim Pate, who regularly advocates for the human rights of prisoners, said Thursday she supports an inquiry into Edmonton Institution but feels its mandate should be broader than a single institution.
“It in some ways was the proverbial canary in the (coal) mine,” she said of Edmonton Institution. “The situation and circumstances of toxic workplace culture is occurring right across the country.”
In a written statement, Zinger said the work environment at Edmonton Institution is “well-documented.”
He said the problems have been studied by multiple Parliamentary committees, in internal surveys, and by both theauditor general of Canada and the integrity commissioner.
In his February report, Zinger raised concerns about guards allowing inmates to throw food at other inmates in protective custody. A review of the incidents found Edmonton Institution “did not initiate a fulsome review or develop strategies” on the issue.