Close X
Sunday, November 17, 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

    Court allows extradition of Alberta terrorism suspect to the United States

    Court allows extradition of Alberta terrorism suspect to the United States
    The Alberta Court of Appeal has ruled that an Alberta man should be extradited to the United States to face terrorism and murder charges.

    Court allows extradition of Alberta terrorism suspect to the United States

    Ottawa-Iqaluit flight evacuated after smoke indicator alarm sounds

    Ottawa-Iqaluit flight evacuated after smoke indicator alarm sounds
    Federal transport officials are investigating after a Canadian North plane with 76 people on board was evacuated this morning in Ottawa.

    Ottawa-Iqaluit flight evacuated after smoke indicator alarm sounds

    Doctor urges Ottawa to allow injured Gaza kids into Canada for medical treatment

    Doctor urges Ottawa to allow injured Gaza kids into Canada for medical treatment
    A man proposing to bring severely injured children from war-torn Gaza to Canada for medical treatment is urging the federal government to support the idea.

    Doctor urges Ottawa to allow injured Gaza kids into Canada for medical treatment

    Separate Deaths at White Rock, Burnaby Keep Homicide Detectives busy on Sunday

    Separate Deaths at White Rock, Burnaby Keep Homicide Detectives busy on Sunday
    VANCOUVER - Metro Vancouver's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is working on two new cases after unrelated deaths in White Rock and Burnaby, B.C.

    Separate Deaths at White Rock, Burnaby Keep Homicide Detectives busy on Sunday

    Canucks Name Veteran NHL assistant Perry Pearn to Coaching Staff

    Canucks Name Veteran NHL assistant Perry Pearn to Coaching Staff
    The 63-year-old from Stettler, Alta., has spent over 19 NHL seasons as an assistant coach with Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and the New York Rangers.

    Canucks Name Veteran NHL assistant Perry Pearn to Coaching Staff

    Whitecaps score twice in the first half to defeat Sporting Kansas City 2-0

    The Vancouver Whitecaps haven't had any difficulty getting up for big games this season, and Sunday's performance against one of the top club's in Major League Soccer was no different....

    Whitecaps score twice in the first half to defeat Sporting Kansas City 2-0