Class action certified alleging harm from extended solitary confinement in N.L. jails
A Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court judge has certified a class action lawsuit alleging harm from prolonged periods of solitary confinement in the province's jails.
The lawsuit alleges negligence by the provincial government in ensuring the safety and well-being of inmates, and says the use of periods of solitary confinement over 15 days is unconstitutional and violates basic human rights guaranteed under the charter.
"Prisoners subjected to solitary confinement regularly suffer serious negative effects on their mental and physical health as a result," says the lawsuit's amended statement of claim.
It alleges the effects of being set apart from others for 23 hours a day for weeks at a time include anxiety, depression, hallucinations, paranoia, self harm and suicide.
The claims made by the complainants have not been proven in court, and the provincial government had not provided comment on the lawsuit after being contacted on Friday.
The representative claimants listed on the court document are Paul Hennebury, Nikita Pearce, Adam Hayden and Chase Maher, and all five of the province's jails are named in the lawsuit.
St. John's law firm Morris Martin Moore announced its bid to certify the suit in September 2020, and Justice Valerie Marshall granted consent on Thursday.
Lawyer James Locke says since the announcement of the lawsuit, about 70 former inmates have contacted the firm with stories of being kept in solitary confinement or segregation for extended periods of time.
The statement of claim alleges prolonged solitary confinement is used inappropriately as a tool to deal with prison overcrowding and respond to prisoners' mental illnesses, including self injury and psychiatric illnesses, "in the absence of adequate institutional resources."
"The use of prolonged solitary confinement amounts to a 'sentence within a sentence,' and constitutes a denial of natural justice and due process," says the document.
The lawsuit spans three decades, going back to 1990, and will also include inmates who spent time in segregation while they had a serious mental illness.
The Newfoundland lawsuit's certification came eight days after a civil liberties group filed a statement of claim against the federal government over solitary confinement, two years after the top courts in British Columbia and Ontario ruled the practice violates prisoners' constitutional rights.
The B.C. Civil Liberties Association alleged in an Oct. 13 notice of civil claim filed in British Columbia Supreme Court that the conditions of solitary confinement infringe on federal inmates' charter rights, arguing they are exposed to physical, psychological, social and spiritual trauma.
-- Story by Michael Tutton in Halifax, with files from Sarah Smellie in St. John's, N.L.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.