Liberal bill to limit solitary confinement

SMITH INQUIRY

meaning the proposed legislation is unlikely to come up for debate before the fall.

It also comes after several high-profile solitary confinement cases in recent years, including the 2007 death of Ashley Smith of Moncton, N.B., an emotionally disturbed 19-year-old who died in custody after tying a strip of cloth around her neck.

A coroner’s inquest into Smith’s death ended in 2012 with 104 recommendations, including a call to end to “indefinite solitary confinement” and the use of segregation beyond 15 days for female inmates with mentalhealth issues.

Shortly after taking office in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered Justice Minister Jody WilsonRaybould to take renewed look at the Smith inquest’s recommendations as part of her mandate to implement reforms to the criminal justice system.

Administrative segregation is used when there is no reasonable alternative to maintain the safety and security of the institution, staff and inmates. It differs from disciplinary segregation, which is applied to inmates who are found guilty of a serious offence in custody.

The Correctional Service of Canada is also amending its policy to outlaw the practice in cases involving serious mental disorders or prisoners who are certified, those who are engaged in “self-injury” and those at risk of suicide.

Under the current law, the Correctional Service of Canada is required to release prisoners from administrative segregation at the earliest possible time.

The new law would establish an initial time limit of 21 days, and then 15 days once the legislation has been the law of the land for 18 months.

The legislation also proposes amending the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and the Abolition of Early Parole Act to make them compliant with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

That includes reinstating an oral hearing after a suspension, termination or revocation of parole.

The legislation would also allow offenders convicted of an offence before March 28, 2011, and who meet the criteria for accelerated parole, to once again be eligible for an accelerated parole review.

In 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down retroactive changes to parole eligibility that were enacted by the previous Conservative government.