IQALUIT
Auditor general Michael Ferguson's report on corrections in Nunavut is damning.
The Office of the Correctional Investigator had a chance to publicly document the conditions at Baffin Correctional Centre for a 2013 report. This is a room in the behavioural unit. - photo courtesy of the Office of the Correctional Investigator
photos courtesy of the Office of the Correctional Investigator
The gymnasium of the Baffin Correctional Centre was used to house 15 inmates on the date that the authors of a report visited. Most inmates were supplied with a pre-fabricated plastic beds like those normally supplied by governmental agencies in major emergency situations, such as floods or wild fires. - photo courtesy of the Office of the Correctional Investigator |
Baffin Correctional Centre is insecure and unsafe for inmates and staff.
So is the new Rankin Inlet Healing Facility.
Inmates aren't being rehabilitated, staff training is lacking, and their jobs are tenuous.
Worst of all, the Department of Justice is doing little to fix these problems.
"The department has known for almost two decades that it has critical correctional facility needs," Ferguson stated, and despite the construction of new facilities in Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit, including Makigiarvik minimum security facility, "they do not address the territory's most critical facility needs: the lack of appropriate space (including the need for maximum-security space) and the poor condition of the Baffin Correctional Centre.
"Issues at this facility include holes in walls, the presence of mould, non-compliance with the National Fire Code, and the housing of inmates with medium- and maximum-security ratings in a minimum-security facility – all of which continue to put the safety and security of inmates and staff at risk."
Ferguson's mandate was to determine whether the Nunavut government had "adequately planned for and operated facilities to house inmates, and adequately managed inmates in compliance with key rehabilitation and reintegration requirements."
The focus was strictly on the territory's men's prisons.
Ferguson noted that the territory's capacity to house inmates has struggled to keep up with the incarceration rate.
Between 2001 and 2011, the average number of Nunavummiut men incarcerated across Canada rose to 147 from 90. In 2011, there were 103 beds in Nunavut's correctional facilities for men. Now there are 201 beds, but if the rate of growth continues, capacity could be an issue again in the early 2020s. The Department of Justice is predicting a need for 268 beds by 2026.
Since 2002, the Department of Justice has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a consultant who brought Baffin Correctional Centre's deficiencies to the department's attention, and recommended a 160-bed facility – with sections that would accommodate those under maximum-security sentences – to replace BCC. The department ignored this advice, Ferguson states.
"The department could not provide us with documentation to explain why there was a change in direction," he states, noting maximum-security needs remain unmet at Rankin Inlet and Makigiarvik.
Ferguson states that during his assessment, only one inmate was being housed according to his security status.
Risk of violence
In addition, all of those on remand – being held awaiting trial – are to be housed as maximum-security inmates, according to Department of Justice directives. They can only be mixed with sentenced inmates if they sign a waiver agreeing to this, he states.
"Inmates have raised the concern to facility management that mixing those requiring protective custody with the general inmate population exposes them to the risk of physical violence," he states. "Facility management noted that mixing occurs as a result of overcrowding."
The number of physical assaults on inmates, staff and visitors rose to 185 incidents in 2012-13 from 57 incidents in 2002-03, he states.
Ferguson recommends the government should secure maximum-security beds in or out of the territory.
Ferguson found that inmates held in segregation for more than a week are often not being given due process, noting that three of six examined had no record of justification, authorization or weekly review, all required if segregation is that long.
Contraband is an issue, with eight incidents discovered monthly. Ferguson pointed to the fact that staff are required under operating procedures to do cell searches on each shift, but instead have a goal of doing such searches once a month. This discrepancy was attributed to a lack of staff to meet the requirements.
No fire drills
Fire safety is of grave concern, Ferguson states. Quarterly emergency evacuation drills were not performed from October 2007 to January 2011, and not at all in the 2012-13 or 2013-14 fiscal years. Justice attributed this to security concerns due to overcrowding. Just ahead of the report going public, evacuation drills were held in February.
"Regular emergency evacuation drills are critical to the safety of inmates and staff," Ferguson states, noting there have been three fires at Baffin Correctional Centre since 2005.
Ferguson criticized the Rankin Inlet Healing Facility, which he writes "was not fully prepared when it opened" and "adopted the operating procedures of the Baffin Correctional Centre, which is not considered to be a healing facility."
He notes that the facility has been underused since opening, despite the fact that BCC remained overcrowded during that time.
"We were informed that the facility had been slow to accept inmates, partly because it lacked a full complement of trained staff on opening," he states, adding that staffing issues continue. As a result, inmates must be assessed at BCC, where staff will determine whether they are suitable for the Rankin Inlet facility.
Ferguson also expressed concern that the Department of Justice continues to rely on casual staff and overtime to address staffing needs at BCC and Rankin Inlet.
"Five employees (at BCC) saw their income rise by more than 90 per cent, almost doubling as a result of overtime payments," he noted.
High crime rate
Staff are charged with managing inmates in a territory that has the second-highest per capita crime rate in Canada.
"In 2013, violent crimes made up 26 per cent of Nunavut's Criminal Code violations, compared with 20 per cent for Canada as a whole. Nineteen per cent of crimes committed in Nunavut that year involved assault. Sexual assaults were also 12 times higher than the national average. A high proportion of crimes in Nunavut involve alcohol and there is no substance abuse treatment centre currently operating in Nunavut," Ferguson states.
And yet, inmates get little to no access to rehabilitative programming. Among the reasons given is that programs are not offered regularly at BCC, they are not offered due to overcrowding, they depend on staff availability, and inmates serving a short sentence don't get access to programming.
Throughout Ferguson's report, Department of Justice officials agree with his assessments and say the department is reviewing its policies. Justice Minister Paul Okalik said little in response the day after the report was tabled.
"A detailed response to the Office of the Auditor General will be tabled in this house," Okalik told legislators. "In the meantime, I assure you that steps are being made and will continue."
Okalik pointed to plans for a made-in-Nunavut Corrections Act and efforts to hire Inuit staff for Makigiarvik to provide Nunavut's inmates with rehabilitation that suits their cultural needs.
"As a small jurisdiction, when we speak of corrections in Nunavut, we are speaking about people we know," he said. "Long-term solutions in corrections will be grounded in Inuit values, knowledge and culture.
"In the coming months, the Department of Justice will consult with community justice committees, traditional counsellors and others, to seek out best practices for making the Corrections Act relevant to our territory."
Ferguson's full report is available on the auditor general's website.
