National Post (National Edition)
Serving powdered milk isn’t cruel, inmate told
Prisoner’s rights not infringed upon, court rules
OTTAWA • Serving powdered milk to federal inmates does not constitute cruel or unusual punishment, the Federal Court has ruled.
A dangerous offender at Warkworth Institution in Campbellford, Ont., had argued that the withdrawal of 2% milk — and its replacement with powdered milk — infringed his Charter rights.
William A. Johnson, 58, said being forced to use powdered milk on his cereal amounted to cruel and unusual punishment, and violated his right to “security of the person.” Johnson said he was allergic to powdered milk, but didn’t provide evidence of a medical issue.
In a recent ruling, Federal Court Judge Alan Diner rejected the inmate’s contention that he had the constitutional right to fresh milk. “The Charter does not protect against trivial limitations of rights,” the judge said.
Johnson, a convicted sex offender who is serving an indeterminate sentence, launched his grievance in January 2015 after the Correctional Service of Canada introduced its National Food Menu to standardize meals served to federal inmates across the country.
Under the program, introduced as part of a wider costcutting plan, federal spending on food for inmates was cut by $6.4 million, according to the 2017 annual report of the Office of the Correctional Investigator.
With its new, standardized menu, the prison service spends $5.41 per day on food for each of its inmates.
The prison menu provides a daily intake of 2,600 calories — the level recommended for men between the ages of 31 and 50 — and meets all of the nutritional requirements set out by Canada’s Food Guide.
The federal prison service saved about $3 million by eliminating fresh milk.
Among other things, English muffins were replaced with toast and the selection of vegetables was reduced.
“Not surprisingly,” correctional investigator Ivan Zinger said, “when these changes were introduced, inmate grievances related to food issues spiked.”
Johnson was one of those to complain: He said Warkworth was unfairly denying inmates fresh milk, bacon and french fries, none of which was included on the National Food Menu.
Johnson’s grievance was denied by prison officials, but he appealed to the Federal Court of Canada on the narrower issue of powdered milk. He said he could not drink it.
Diner noted that Johnson had the right to seek a modified prison diet if he could prove he was allergic to powdered milk.
“I find that the provision of powdered milk does not constitute cruel or unusual punishment,” the judge said.
In his annual report, the correctional investigator called food “foundational to health and safety” inside a prison, and said it was one of the factors that ignited a riot at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary in December 2016.
That riot left one inmate dead, eight injured and caused an estimated $3.6 million in damage.
Zinger said “unresolved demands regarding inmate dissatisfaction with food” likely played a role in triggering the violence.
In some prisons, he added, food has become a commodity bartered and sold like illicit drugs, and he warned that “playing with the food of hungry and frustrated prisoners can have unintended detrimental effects.”
Zinger called for an external audit of prison food with a focus on portion size, quality and selection.
The Correctional Service of Canada has said an internal audit of food services is to be published later this year.
Complaints about food were the third most common inmate grievance during the past three years, according to a recent corrections report.
The prison service has received more than 6,000 complaints about its food since 2014. Those grievances were only outnumbered by complaints about prison staff and outside communications.