For Immediate Release – February 12, 2025
Open Letter – Non-Profit Human Rights and Community Justice Organizations Call for an End to “Solitary Confinement by Another Name” Across Canada
We are collectively expressing our disappointment and concern after reviewing the Government of Canada’s response to the findings of the 12th and final report of the Structured Intervention Units Implementation Advisory Panel (SIU IAP), released on January 27, 2025.
Bill C-83 was passed in 2019 in response to a successful charter litigation, and with the primary objective of prohibiting the practice of solitary confinement conditions for segregated prisoners in institutions operated by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). This practice was deemed unconstitutional as it was contributing to deteriorating mental health of prisoners, and violating Charter-enshrined principles of fundamental justice.
We agree with the SIU IAP’s conclusion that Canada has not eliminated the experience of solitary confinement with the construction and operation of the SIUs. “The SIUs have not “transformed” federal corrections in Canada. This was inevitable because the focus of CSC, our Panel, and much of the commentary, has been on SIUs as a ‘special’ part of CSC rather than being a part that is integrated into CSC”.
We urge the government to take particular note of the recommendation that CSC’s focus must be on the whole of its operations. This broader focus will enable CSC to ensure that its institutions and penitentiaries are Charter compliant – which currently they are not – and give people who are imprisoned a fighting chance to rehabilitate and reintegrate into society. The fact remains that the vast majority of people in prison will be released, regardless of ‘tough on crime’ political agendas.
While we recognize that most Canadians and politicians are currently focused on the impacts of the US tariff threats, as non-profit organizations and community groups it is our responsibility to remind decision makers such as those at CSC and Public Safety that they have an obligation to meaningfully respond to the violation of human rights of people who are imprisoned across Canada. Given the lack of urgency shown by the Liberal government, CSC, and Public Safety regarding these recommendations, we are mobilizing to form a People’s Commission to act on the recommendations made by the SIU-IAP since its inception in 2019. This will also include findings from Coroners’ Inquests, government reports, community-based, and academic research analyses on solitary confinement. We can no longer sit idly by, while the torturous practice of solitary confinement continues, and human rights of all prisoners are at stake.
Media contact(s):
Farhat Rehman (she/her)
Mothers Offering Mutual Support
Jeffrey Bradley (he/him)
Criminalization and Punishment Education Project
jeffreybradley@cmail.carleton.ca
Catherine Latimer (she/her)
John Howard Society of Canada
Signatories:
Criminalization and Punishment Education Project
Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia
Incarcerated Voters
John Howard Society of Canada
Mothers Offering Mutual Support
National Associations Active in Criminal Justice
Ottawa Black Diaspora Coalition
Ottawa Transformative Justice Collective
St. Leonard’s Society of Canada
Tracking (In)Justice Project
Planning for Abolition Project, Carleton University
Book Clubs for Inmates
The 7th Step Society of Canada
The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies
Justice for Soli
Long-term Inmates Now in the Community
Prisoner Legal Supports
Streetcats YYC
Pivot Legal Society
Feed The People Growers Cooperative
Prévention-CDN-NDG
Levityghosts
If you would like to sign the open letter please submit a form at: https://forms.gle/N27jLfyZLBh9S2k27