Inmates in ‘atrocious’ conditions amid second wave: advocate

OTTAWA — The head of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies says the rising COVID-19 case count bodes ill for prison inmates, many of whom remain under partial lockdown without adequate health care.

A “toxic” relationship between correctional officers and inmates conflicts with guards’ de facto role as caregivers during the pandemic, said Emilie Coyle.

“They’ve compensated for the lack of ability to socially distance by locking people down in really restrictive ways, which has tremendously affected the mental health of prisoners,” Coyle said in a phone interview, calling the conditions in some institutions “atrocious.”

A “deficient” health-care system is aggravated by guidance from public health officials who are not familiar with prisons, resulting in punitive restrictions that “don’t equate to care,” she said.

Her advocacy group is calling on the federal government to release some offenders, as well as accused awaiting trial, so as to allow easier physical distancing behind bars, a step she says provinces have taken more readily than Ottawa.

The federal prison population fell by only two per cent to about 13,700 between March and April, while the number of Canadians incarcerated at provincial and territorial institutions dropped by 25 per cent to roughly 18,200 between February and April, according to Statistics Canada.

The changes came after Public Safety Minister Bill Blair asked the federal prison service and the parole board in March to consider releasing some inmates early to lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Other steps included extended parole and alternatives for those awaiting trial or sentencing.