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Inmate says with its large windows, spacious common areas, natural rock outcroppings and innovative approach to corrections, North Slave Correctional Centre isn't a bad place to do time. - Alex Glancy/NNSL photo

Life on the inside

Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 26/04) - The cell doors in the remand unit of the North Slave Correctional Centre swing open at 6 a.m. every day, leaving the prisoners free to roam around a sweeping, pastel coloured common room overlooking the hills surrounding Kam Lake.

Life in the unit, which is currently home to about 30 men, is governed by a strict routine.

Lunch is served at 11:15 a.m., dinner at 4:15 p.m.

Twice a day the inmates are confined to their cells for half-an-hour of quiet time. Three times a week they are allowed into the gym, usually for about an hour. On most nights, their lights are out by 10:30 p.m.

"It's extremely boring. There is nothing to do here," says Stanley James Itsi, a 34-year-old from Fort McPherson.

Itsi, who speaks in deliberate tones with flecks of bitterness, has been in jail for several months, charged with killing his wife last December.

Unlike the other inmates at North Slave, Itsi and the men in the remand unit have not yet been convicted of a crime -- at least not in relation to their most recent charges. Most were denied bail based on some combination of their criminal history and the seriousness of the allegations against them.

Others, realizing there was practically no chance they would be released, decided to forgo the bail hearing process altogether.

The inmates spend their days watching television and playing cards, a monotonous routine that one man called "extremely frustrating." And while their cases meander their way through the legal system, the inmates say they are stuck in a state of correctional limbo.

Like most guests of the correctional system, the men in North Slave's remand unit have concerns about their living conditions. Their complaints range from the mundane -- one day, guards did not bring enough juice to go around -- to the serious -- many prisoners don't understand their legal rights.

But the paramount concern raised by the three prisoners interviewed by Yellowknifer last week was the lack of services available to men in the remand unit.

Unlike their counterparts in the general population, the men say they do not have access to drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, continuing education, or psychological counselling.

"You are guilty until proven innocent," said one man, imprisoned since April on a charge of sexual assault. "We just sit here and fester. There is no rehabilitation or healing."

Serious cases can take eight to 12 months before they come to trial, time the prisoners say they could spend getting clean and upgrading their eduction.

"Why can't we have access to programs just because we are in remand?" asked Itsi. "They would help us, too."

Itsi suggested the territorial government could charge an excise tax on alcohol, with the proceeds going to fund the defunct Somba K'e Healing Lodge, a rehabilitation centre on the outskirts of Yellowknife. During a discussion earlier this fall, veteran Yellowknife defence attorney James Brydon said the Government of Canada realized some 30 years ago that a number of remand prisoners were entering false guilty pleas because of the plodding pace of the justice system.

"They realized it would simply be faster to plead guilty and serve your time instead of waiting," he said.

Constantine Savas, an articulate 43-year-old former drug dealer, who is running for the presidency of the inmate association, said several remand prisoners still face the same dilemma Brydon described: plead guilty and serve your time, or wait up to a year for your trial.

"The justice system can be unbearably slow," said Savas. "Injustices occur all the time. People plead guilty because it is faster than waiting for a trial date."

Relies on inmates

Another prisoner attributed the delays to a system that relies on inmates to sustain itself.

"We are a commodity," said the man, who asked to be described only as an "innocent man, falsely accused."

"We provide job security to all the lawyers, judges, guards and bureaucrats."

Savas agreed the authorities have an interest in maintaining a "revolving door" approach to corrections.

"They need to pay off the jail and the only way to do that is with prisoners," he said.

Many inmates in the remand unit have only a limited understanding of the law, which also leads to false guilty pleas, Savas says.

Without access to the Internet and armed only with a two-year-old copy of the Canadian Criminal Code, inmates don't have the resources to properly prepare their cases, said Savas.

"They are coerced... into making decisions that are not in their best interest. They really don't understand the process," he says.

Sometimes, however, the delays are actually sought by the inmates. In the event they are convicted, remand prisoners usually receive two days of sentencing credit for every day spent in remand.

Bearable accommodations

Systematic concerns aside, Savas says life in the North Slave Correctional Centre is bearable.

The thickly-muscled father of four has spent the better part of the last 10 years in custody, including a stint at a southern penitentiary.

He says North Slave, with its large windows, spacious common areas, natural rock outcroppings and innovative approach to corrections, isn't a bad place to do time.

"The colour code is nice," says Savas, arrested last month during a roadside drug bust near Rae, in which he says he was an unwitting bystander.

Savas did complain inmates don't have enough access to the gym and the correctional centre's healing room: a circular, peach-coloured rotunda laced with natural rock.

"When are we going to get our sweats," Savas jokingly called out to a passing guard. "Sometime soon?"

Itsi has also asked jail officials for a foosball table and a stereo to help break the monotony.

With little to do, Itsi said the men spend time playing cards and chatting. Interactions between inmates, especially those who have been in custody for several months, are relatively amicable, Itsi said. "We know we are going to be here for a while."

Like many of the inmates at North Slave, Savas says he has turned the page on his criminal past, which included arrests for drug trafficking.

"I don't do that stuff anymore," Savas said of dealing crack-cocaine. Savas blamed his latest arrest on inopportune circumstances and his reputation. He lamented Yellowknife's drug explosion and the fact that dealers are mixing crack with things like heroin and Aylmer's glue to produce highly potent narcotics.

"Families are getting f***ed up," he says, matter of factly.

Once his legal problems are ironed out, Savas says he is looking forward to re-uniting with his children, who are currently living with his estranged wife.

"One day, when they're ready, they will come and see me," he says. "My wife is an excellent mother, so I know they are going to be alright.

"I just wish she would bring me some running shoes."