WEST COAST PRISON JUSTICE SOCIETY SOLITARY BY ANOTHER NAME The ongoing use of isolation in Canada’s federal prisons Prisoners’ Legal Services, a project of the West Coast Prison Justice Society Solitary by another name: The ongoing use of isolation in Canada’s federal prisons November 2020 Acknowledgements This report was produced by the West Coast Prison Justice Society / Prisoners’ Legal Services with funding from the Law Foundation of British Columbia. The West Coast Prison Justice Society operates Prisoners’ Legal Services (PLS), a legal aid clinic for federal and provincial prisoners in British Columbia. This report was written by staff at PLS and was developed with input from our clients. We thank our clients for sharing their experiences with us in support of this report and we hope that in doing so, they may help others avoid the suffering and lasting psychological harm caused by solitary confinement and all forms of physical and social isolation. CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................... 4 I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... 6 The harms of solitary confinement ................................................................................................................................. 6 Isolation that falls short of the definition of solitary confinement ................................................................................. 7 Law on isolating prisoners .............................................................................................................................................. 8 II. LOCKDOWNS ....................................................................................................................................................... 10 No legal authority for lockdowns .................................................................................................................................. 10 Lockdowns at Kent ........................................................................................................................................................ 11 III. RESTRICTIVE MOVEMENT ROUTINES ................................................................................................................... 14 Kent Institution’s Movement Routine ........................................................................................................................... 14 The harms of Kent’s Movement Routine ...................................................................................................................... 16 History of Kent’s movement routine and the trend of increasing isolation .................................................................. 17 Restrictive movement routines are unlawful ............................................................................................................... 18 Efforts to address indefinite isolation at Kent ............................................................................................................... 19 Escalating tensions and introduction of a new routine ................................................................................................ 21 IV. PRISONERS’ ACCOUNTS OF ISOLATION AT KENT .............................................................................................. 22 V. PANDEMIC RESPONSE .......................................................................................................................................... 31 COVID-19 in Canada ..................................................................................................................................................... 31 CSC and Canada’s response violated prisoners’ fundamental rights ............................................................................ 32 Explosion of cases at Mission Medium Institution ....................................................................................................... 33 Lockdowns and modified routines imposed to address the Mission outbreak ............................................................ 34 Calls to reduce the spread of COVID-19 while protecting prisoners’ rights .................................................................. 38 VI. ISOLATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH REASONS ......................................................................................................... 40 Suicide watch in observation cells ................................................................................................................................ 41 Isolation at CSC treatment centres ............................................................................................................................... 42 Therapeutic Units ......................................................................................................................................................... 43 VII. STRUCTURED INTERVENTION UNITS (SIUs) .......................................................................................................... 44 SIU Implementation Advisory Panel ............................................................................................................................. 44 Solitary confinement permitted under SIU regime ....................................................................................................... 45 Life in SIU ...................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Indigenous prisoners in SIU .......................................................................................................................................... 49 Continued isolation of people with mental health disabilities in SIU ........................................................................... 49 SIU reviews ................................................................................................................................................................... 51 Denial of access to counsel for SIU reviews .................................................................................................................. 53 Alternatives to SIU ........................................................................................................................................................ 56 VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................................................................... 58 ENDNOTES ................................................................................................................................................................ 62 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ~ It’s relationship that produces safety. It’s our connection with one another.1 ~ anada has announced that it has abolished and some report resorting to self-harm as a the use of segregation in its prisons. way of coping with the prolonged isolation. However, prisoners in Canada’s federal C New analysis of Kent’s movement routine penitentiaries continue to be held in isolation at an alarming rate, despite overwhelming by two leading forensic psychiatrists, Dr. evidence that solitary confinement causes John Bradford and Dr. Terry Kupers, reveals serious psychological harm and international that prisoners subjected to it are vulnerable consensus that the practice can amount to to developing the same psychiatric issues torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading known to be associated with solitary treatment or punishment.2 confinement. This report describes many of the ways • Isolation for mental health reasons. CSC Correctional Service Canada (CSC) continues to routinely isolates people who are in mental lock federal prisoners alone in their cells for all health crisis in conditions that prisoners say or most of the day, sometimes for months on are more traumatic and dehumanizing than end. These include: segregation. Perversely, this can be for the purpose of observation when someone is • Lockdowns. Wardens at federal prisons at risk of suicide or severe self-harm. Even across Canada regularly lock down entire in CSC run “treatment centres” prisoners institutions or units within them for days, are held in what they call “quiet rooms” for weeks, or even months, without lawful exhibiting symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress authority. Prisoners under lockdown are Disorder. “Therapeutic units” at mainstream sometimes not allowed out of their cells at penitentiaries, which are supposed to all for days at a time, and other times are provide a higher level of mental health given only 15 minutes to one hour out per treatment, are used to warehouse prisoners day. This report examines lockdowns at Kent with mental health disabilities with very few Institution (Kent) in British Columbia, where resources. Some clients have described the lockdowns are relied on regularly for the only “therapy” they have received in these mass solitary confinement of prisoners. units as consisting of colouring pictures with other prisoners. • Restrictive movement routines. These are schedules set by wardens that have • Structured Intervention Units (SIU). been used to restrict prisoners in an entire SIUs were legislated to replace the institution to their cells for most of the day, unconstitutional segregation regime, but