B.C. rally calls for safe release of prisoners

A justice advocacy group says it wants prisoners at a federal institution in British Columbia ravaged by a COVID-19 outbreak to know there are people in the community fighting for their safety.

Meenakshi Mannoe of the Vancouver Prison Justice Day Committee says members were rallying outside Mission Institution Sunday and making noise from their cars or at a safe physical distance.

The committee is calling for the urgent care of all prisoners across Canada and the immediate release of detainees to ensure adequate physical distancing and quarantine measures.

Inmates’ sentences should not include exposure to a potentially fatal respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, Mannoe said.

“However we feel about the crimes people do, they’re not supposed to be subject to further punishment inside,” she said.

“We want to let them know we’re out here making noise and we’re calling for action from all levels of government and the Correctional Service of Canada to make sure people have safe living conditions.”

The group is also calling for broader testing of all prisoners, and daily updates with details of the situation for their family members.

It is also among more than three dozen organizations demanding an immediate inquest into the death of an inmate at the prison last month.

Mission Institution is experiencing the largest prison outbreak in Canada. The B.C. government said Saturday that 133 inmates and staff have tested positive for COVID-19.

Across Canada, 290 federal inmates have been infected, with 155 having recovered, according to federal figures released Saturday.