Manitoba over-relying on solitary confinement, lawsuit by former inmate alleges

A former inmate is seeking class-action certification for his lawsuit against the Manitoba government, which accuses it of negligent solitary confinement practices that have "traumatized" some inmates in correctional facilities across the province.

James Darren Audy, a 36-year-old man, is suing the province for negligence for the solitary confinement practices used at its nine correctional facilities, according to a statement of claim filed at the Manitoba Court of King's Bench on May 2.

He wants to represent all current and former Manitoba inmates who opt in to the class action, which is specifically for those who had a serious mental illness, were youths or spent more than 15 consecutive days in solitary confinement between May 4, 2022 until the present.

Manitoba's correctional facilities have been "over-relying" on solitary confinement for administrative purposes, breaching its common law, constitutional and fiduciary duties owed to Audy and other potential class action members, the suit says.

The province has "maintained an enormously harmful system" of solitary confinement that's used without due process or oversight in its correctional facilities, affecting inmates with serious mental illnesses — some as young as 12 years old, the suit claims.

None of the allegations have been proven in court. A statement of defence has not yet been filed, and a provincial spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Manitoba inmates can be placed in either disciplinary or preventative segregation, according to provincial law.

The law states disciplinary segregation can be used as punishment for up to 15 consecutive days. However, there's no time limit for inmates placed in preventative segregation, which is for those believed to pose a safety risk to themselves, others or the facility they're serving time in.

Audy's lawsuit says he has experienced solitary confinement at Manitoba correctional facilities multiple times throughout his life, but it only describes the most recent occurrence, which took place over about four consecutive months at the Winnipeg Remand Centre last year.

Audy was placed into preventative segregation at the jail without explanation and put in a cell about 12 feet long and six feet wide, which was dirty and had a thin mat to sleep on, the suit alleges.

His meals were served on a tray slid through the cell's door and he had no access to any programming, the suit claims, adding he was allowed outside of his cell for half an hour each day and had to decide to use that time for either a shower or a phone call.

'Cruel, inhuman, degrading punishment': lawsuit

Audy experienced hallucinations and suicidal thoughts during his solitary confinement at the remand centre and it caused him serious and long-lasting emotional and psychological harms, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and flashbacks, the suit alleges.

"His mental health deteriorated to the point where he began banging his head against the wall, at one point splitting it open," which is when Audy began to receive psychiatric attention and was prescribed anti-psychotic medication as well as a depressant drug, the suit says.

He tried multiple times to have his solitary confinement reviewed but waited several days to receive a review form and several more for a pencil, the suit says.

Audy was not made aware of a decision after he submitted the completed review form, and later watched a correctional officer rip up another form he submitted, the suit claims.

Manitoba's correctional facilities place inmates in preventative segregation for weeks, months and sometimes years for a range of reasons and often with no explanation at all, the suit claims.

The facilities are not using solitary confinement as the last resort it is meant to be, but instead as a "routine inmate management strategy," and the province failed to properly supervise its employees to ensure inmates were not harmed, the suit says.

It calls solitary confinement "a dungeon inside a prison," describing them as sites of "cruel, inhuman, degrading punishment," lacking any meaningful human contact and often smaller than a parking space, dirty and covered in blood and feces.

The frequency, duration and conditions of the solitary confinement served by Audy and eligible members of the potential class action was in breach of their Charter right to be held in humane and safe facilities and "cannot be justified in a free and democratic society," the suit alleges.

"The practice needs to stop," James Sayce, one of four lawyers with the Toronto-based law firm representing Audy in the lawsuit, told CBC in an emailed statement on Wednesday.

The lawsuit seeks punitive damages, saying Audy and potential class-action members were treated in a way that "irreparably altered the path of their lives" and caused damages that include emotional, physical and psychological harm.

It also seeks damages for charter violations.

The suit makes reference to provincial, national and international reports that point out the harms of solitary confinement, including some by the Manitoba ombudsman that raised concerns about the fairness of the decision and subsequent review of segregating inmates.

It also references the inquest into the 2019 death of Jeffrey Tait, 31, who killed himself after more than three weeks in solitary confinement at Headingley Correctional Centre.

That inquest recommended a full review of the use of segregation in Manitoba's correctional institutions.