CUPE calls for release of low-risk prisoners

Says COVID-19 an issue that can be lessened

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) wants provincial and federal governments to release non-violent, low-risk inmates from Saskatchewan jails and prisons in order to prevent the potential spread of COVID -19 inside the facilities.

Releasing offenders, especially those who are elderly or have underlying health conditions, is necessary to keep the prison population safe, according to the union representing Saskatchewan’s 130 legal-aid staff.

“We’re being asked to self-isolate, to practise social distancing. Of course, these are not options for incarcerated people. These (institutions) are densely populated, sometimes they’re overcrowded, so containment would be very difficult in one of these confined spaces,” said Meara Conway, a legal aid lawyer and president of CUPE 1949.

Conway said these high-traffic institutions pose a significant risk to inmates, staff and the health- care system. Fewer inmates would mean fewer resources are needed, should an outbreak occur.

“We’re not asking them to empty out the jails. We’re asking for some common-sense solutions to decrease the populations in these facilities,” Conway said.

She noted in Ontario, for example, people who are serving intermittent sentences — custodial sentences served usually on weekends — are no longer required to come to jail.

Inmates also could continue to serve their sentences in the community on conditions, similar to how suspended sentences or probation operates.

“The criminal-justice system is well-equipped to address the goals of the justice system, be it deterrence, denunciation and rehabilitation, through community-based options. This isn’t something new or novel, and it could easily be done in our view,” Conway said.

In a news release issued Thursday, Kim Beaudin, National Vice Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, called for provincial and federal correctional facilities to release non-violent people who are on remand and “return Indigenous youth presently incarcerated in youth facilities back to their families” in order to reduce the number of people in custody should an outbreak occur.

Testing inmates for COVID -19 before they are released would be up to health professionals, Conway said, adding that she is not aware of any current outbreak in Saskatchewan institutions.

Conway said if the government decides to release lowrisk, non-violent offenders, the next step would be ensuring they have places to go for self-isolation.

“What we’re asking for is that these questions are being asked and that government are turning their minds to the possible repercussions of outbreaks in these facilities,” Conway said. “We need to consider the impacts of releasing these people, but we also have to consider the impacts of not taking any action.”

A provincial government official did not respond to a request for comment as of Thursday.