Protest slams outbreak response as COVID races through city jail
Relatives of inmates call for resignation of province's minister of corrections
Protesters gathered with drums and jingle dresses on the road outside the Regina Correctional Centre (RCC) to show support for their loved ones inside the jail amid growing number of cases of
COVID-19.
Julie Paul was out on Tuesday morning supporting her son River Peters who was diagnosed with COVID-19 while awaiting a court date on Jan. 14.
According to the Ministry of Corrections, on Monday there were 12 staff and 62 inmates diagnosed with COVID at the RCC.
Peters and other mothers who gathered wanted their children and the men at the jail to hear their voices and to know people on the outside were advocating for them.
Paul says she has struggled for the past week to speak with her son. Unable to get through to him, the ministry or RCC staff, she decided to organize a protest.
“It's so painful to know that your son is suffering in jail,” she said, explaining there has been difficulty with inmates calling and getting in touch with family on the outside.
“They are so very scared for their life. Like, they are being left there without any help,” said Paul. “Some of them can't breathe very well. Some of them don't even have any access to their normal canteen.”
Paul alleges that inmates are not able to access medicine and treatment, adding that she won't stop protesting until she sees results.
Many of the women who rallied on Tuesday believe there was considerable indifference from Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Christine Tell, who travelled to California in October and November last year to visit a sick relative.
“I was shocked. People are suffering in jails and she's out there gallivanting,” charged Paul. “She's not doing her job.”
Premier Scott Moe stated earlier this week that unlike the situation with Joe Hargrave, who stepped down from cabinet this week because of his Christmas travels to the U.S., Tell's trip occurred prior to growing case counts.
NDP MLA and justice critic Nicole Sarauer attended the protest to throw her support behind the women and to renew calls for Tell's resignation. Similar demands for the minister's resignation came Tuesday from inmates in Saskatoon and Prince Albert, where some prisoners refused meal trays to press their point.
“The failure of leadership from the minister of corrections has been ongoing and hasn't improved at all,” said Sarauer.
“This is a minister that was in California in November and isn't here today to listen to these moms, isn't inside listening to the inmates or staff,” she added.
When asked for comment on the protest or for a statement from Tell, a ministry spokesperson referred to a previous statement and
comment issued on Monday, a day before the protest.
In the statement, Tell said: “I would like our inmates and their family members to know that the health and wellbeing of our inmates in all our correctional centres is always top of mind.”
Saraurer added that on the best of days, health care within Saskatchewan jails is lacking and the system has been taxed by the pandemic.
The MLA said that while Tell has previously stated that people in jail are there for a reason and would not entertain releasing inmates due to the pandemic, Saraurer mentioned that half of all inmates in Saskatchewan jails are on remand.
Remanded prisoners are awaiting trial, meaning they have not been convicted of a crime.
“Anyone who is serving time in our jails isn't being sentenced to a place where they should have inadequate health care,” said Saraurer. “It shouldn't be a death sentence.”
Chief Margaret Bear of the Ochapowace First Nation came to the protest to offer her support with the mothers and the inmates. She said it was important to fight for inmates around the province who aren't able to communicate or tell their stories.
“As mothers we weep in silence, because the hurt of one is the hurt of all. When our people hurt, we hurt,” she said.
Bear addressed Tell's handling of the pandemic by saying “from one woman to the other, from one mother to another, I call upon you to do better. Come and do your job.”