Close X
Saturday, November 16, 2024
ADVT 
National

Nunavut prison still squalid, drug-ridden a year after watchdog's report

Steve Rennie, Canadian Press, 25 Aug, 2014 10:31 AM
    You won't see it on the itinerary for Stephen Harper's annual northern tour, and it's somewhere the prime minister would probably rather not be seen, anyway.
     
    But while Harper is in Iqaluit trumpeting his government's spending on science and technology, scant attention will be paid to one of the North's most notorious jails, just a short distance away.
     
    It's a place the federal Conservatives want no part of, one they are more than happy to leave in the hands of the territorial government, which is responsible for the jail, but seems reluctant to do much about its squalid state.
     
    The territory hasn't done a whole lot to deal with a list of serious problems that Canada's prisons watchdog identified more than a year ago.
     
    In fact, federal Correctional Investigator Howard Sapers hasn't heard from the Nunavut government since he submitted his report on the Baffin Correctional Centre in April 2013.
     
    "Once we gave them our report, of course we don't have jurisdiction and they have no particular obligation to reply," Sapers said in a recent interview.
     
    "That's why there weren't recommendations. We just simply gave them the observations that they asked for and it was then really a matter for the territorial government to deal with."
     
    Sapers' report, which quietly appeared on the Nunavut Justice Department website in the spring, listed a slew of serious problems at the jail.
     
    The place is rife with drugs and illegal contraband. Inmates live in constant fear of beatings and sexual assaults. It is so overcrowded that prisoners are kept in cells with up to four times the intended occupancy rate. Some cells have no toilets or running water. The prison is filthy, drafty and mouldy. The smell is overpowering.
     
    "When I first walked through, I was quite taken aback. I was taken aback at its state of disrepair, said Sapers.
     
    "The conditions of confinement were certainly well below anything I had seen in a federal penitentiary."
     
    Not just in Canada, either. Sapers puts the Baffin Correctional Centre on par with some of the worst jails he's seen around the world.
     
    "I have visited prisons across Canada and in several spots in the United States and in many places around the world, including China, (South) Korea, the Czech Republic, Singapore," he said.
     
    "The conditions in the Baffin Correctional Centre were certainly as bad as any I've seen anywhere."
     
    Neither Nunavut Justice Minister Paul Okalik nor his department have responded to questions about the jail.
     
    Ottawa has an agreement with Nunavut to hold federally sentenced offenders, under certain circumstances, in territorial jails.
     
    But the Conservatives aren't eager to be associated with the Baffin Correctional Centre.
     
    In a November 2012 response to questions on the Commons order paper from former Liberal MP Denis Coderre, then-public safety minister Vic Toews repeatedly said the jail belongs to Nunavut and isn't the federal government's responsibility.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Vancouver's B2Gold reports Q2 net loss on increased gold production

    Vancouver's B2Gold reports Q2 net loss on increased gold production
    B2Gold Corp. says it's expecting another solid year for gold production while reporting about a four per cent increase in its second quarter....

    Vancouver's B2Gold reports Q2 net loss on increased gold production

    Time to move on from feud with Harper and MacKay, says Canada's chief justice

    Time to move on from feud with Harper and MacKay, says Canada's chief justice
    Canada's top justice says she is not concerned that a recent spat with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Justice Minister Peter MacKay has eroded the respect...

    Time to move on from feud with Harper and MacKay, says Canada's chief justice

    Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says brother's apology to police chief is 'sincere'

    Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says brother's apology to police chief is 'sincere'
    Coun. Doug Ford apologized and took back his words Wednesday, two days after Chief Bill Blair filed a defamation notice against him....

    Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says brother's apology to police chief is 'sincere'

    Supreme Court of Canada grants oral hearings bong shop owner, employee

    Supreme Court of Canada grants oral hearings bong shop owner, employee
    The Supreme Court of Canada has granted oral hearings to a B.C. bong shop owner and his employee who expected undercover police officers to respect a posted...

    Supreme Court of Canada grants oral hearings bong shop owner, employee

    Northwestern B.C. Residents Ordered To Evacuate Due To Wildfire Near Houston

    Northwestern B.C. Residents Ordered To Evacuate Due To Wildfire Near Houston
    HOUSTON, B.C. - British Columbians living near the northwestern community of Houston have been ordered to evacuate due to a raging wildfire.

    Northwestern B.C. Residents Ordered To Evacuate Due To Wildfire Near Houston

    Fourth male charged after violence breaks out at pro-Palestine rally

    Fourth male charged after violence breaks out at pro-Palestine rally
    CALGARY - An 18-year-old man is the latest to be charged after violence broke out at a pro-Palestinian rally in front of Calgary city hall last month.

    Fourth male charged after violence breaks out at pro-Palestine rally