Cruel, inhuman and degrading? Canada's treatment of federally-sentenced women with mental health issues

Smith’s death was a direct result of the interaction between her mental health issues and the prison environment, and the failure of the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) to respond appropriately to her mental health needs. [...] In December 2010, the IHRP submitted a request for information to CSC pursuant to s. 6 of the Access to Information Act.15 Our request was expansive: we sought “all information within the possession or control of the Correctional Service of Canada related to federally sentenced prisoners with mental health issues.” The request also included a non-exhaustive list of the types of information we hope [...] According to s. 5 of the CCRA, CSC is responsible for the: (a) the care and custody of inmates; (b) the provision of programs that contribute to the rehabilitation of offenders and to their successful reintegration into the community; (c) the preparation of inmates for release; (d) parole, statutory release supervision and long-term supervision of offenders; and (e) maintaining a program of public [...] The Task Force’s mandate was to examine CSC’s management of FSW from sentence commencement to the date warrant expiry; and to develop a policy and plan that would be “responsive to the unique and special needs” of FSW.82 The Task Force’s report, Creating Choices, was released in April 1990 and called for the closure of Kingston’s Prison for Women (P4W), establishment of regional prisons in its pla [...] The review took place in three phases and led to the release of the Task Force Report on Administrative Segregation.100 The Task Force Report on Administrative Segregation outlines shortcomings in Canada’s corrections system relating to compliance with policies, effectiveness, adherence to the rule of law, and misunderstanding by staff members of the purposes of administrative segregation.101 The