Thursday, March 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Supreme Court Of Canada To Hear Appeals On Solitary Confinement

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 13 Feb, 2020 08:53 PM

    OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada will revisit the decisions of courts in British Columbia and Ontario that said the federal law allowing prolonged solitary confinement in prison was unconstitutional.

     

    The high court agreed Thursday to jointly hear the federal government's challenges of the provincial appeal-court decisions.

     

    The Supreme Court also said it would hear cross-appeals from civil liberties groups in each case that argue the provincial decisions did not go far enough.

     

    Although it contested the appeal-court decisions, the federal government brought in new legislation it said would end the practice of segregating prisoners who pose risks to security or themselves.

     

    The government says inmates requiring isolation will be kept in "structured intervention units" that allow better access to programming and mental-health care.

     

    Human-rights organizations have criticized the changes as a mere rebranding of the practice with insufficient safeguards.

     

    As usual, the Supreme Court gave no reasons Thursday for agreeing to hear the cases. But the high court's coming review will give the federal government, civil liberties groups and other concerned parties an opportunity to stake out their positions on the highly controversial issue.

     

    "It is disappointing that the federal government continues to fight for the right to keep prisoners in prolonged solitary confinement," said Michael Rosenberg, a lawyer for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

     

    "The courts have held that this is cruel and unusual treatment."

     

    In finding the practice unconstitutional last March, Ontario Court of Appeal placed a hard cap on solitary confinement, saying inmates could no longer be isolated for more than 15 days due to "foreseeable and expected harm which may be permanent" from prolonged segregation.

     

    In June, the British Columbia Court of Appeal said the practice violated the right to life, liberty and security of the person in allowing indefinite isolation and failing to provide external review of decisions to segregate inmates.

     

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Federal NDP Seeks Provincial Support For National Pharmacare Plan

    The New Democrats are asking the provinces to support their promised universal pharmacare legislation, hoping to win premiers over by calling on Ottawa to increase federal health transfers.

    Federal NDP Seeks Provincial Support For National Pharmacare Plan

    Auctioneer Ordered To Pay Collector For Knowingly Selling Fake Inuit Statue

    A high-end auction house has been ordered to further compensate a British art collector for selling him a statue it claimed was by a renowned Inuit artist, even though it knew the piece was fake.

    Auctioneer Ordered To Pay Collector For Knowingly Selling Fake Inuit Statue

    Supreme Court Won't Hear Appeals Of Couple Convicted In Diabetic Son's Death

    The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the appeal of a couple found guilty of killing their diabetic teenage son.

    Supreme Court Won't Hear Appeals Of Couple Convicted In Diabetic Son's Death

    Canada's Climate Goals For Power On Track

    Canada's Climate Goals For Power On Track
    Canada appears poised to rack up a climate-change win, says a recent government report submitted to the United Nations.

    Canada's Climate Goals For Power On Track

    Horgan Says Pipeline Protests At Legislature Left Him 'Despondent'

    Premier John Horgan says anti-pipeline protests that saw hundreds of people block entrances to the B.C. legislature are unacceptable and wrong.

    Horgan Says Pipeline Protests At Legislature Left Him 'Despondent'

    Coquitlam Driving Instructor Gets His Car Towed After Failing A Basic Security Check

    A student and his instructor had a rather unexpected end to a driving lesson after the driver ran through a stop sign before failing a roadside sobriety test.  

    Coquitlam Driving Instructor Gets His Car Towed After Failing A Basic Security Check

    PrevNext