Manitoba's top doctor signs directive banning incarceration under Public Health Act after CBC investigation
Geraldine Mason was apprehended under Public Health Act, spent month in jail after missing TB medication
The province's chief medical officer has signed a directive banning incarcerating someone under the Public Health Act, following an order from Manitoba's premier in reaction to a CBC investigation.
CBC published a story Monday detailing what happened to Geraldine Mason, a 36-year-old from God's Lake First Nation who spent a month in jail after she was detained for tuberculosis treatment.
The story caught the attention of Premier Wab Kinew, who described Mason's incarceration as "terrible" and said no else should ever have to go through that ordeal.
"I read the story this morning. I reached out to the two most senior people in the government and I said, 'Get me an order ensuring that nobody is ever jailed for having tuberculosis again,'" Kinew said Monday following the publication of CBC's report.
Mason was arrested under the Public Health Act on Oct. 27 and initially ordered to spend three months behind bars, at the Winnipeg Remand Centre or the provincial Women's Correctional Centre.
She spent a month in jail and was only allowed out of her cell for four hours a day. While incarcerated, she was also subjected to four strip searches.
She wasn't charged with anything, has no criminal record and described her time in jail as a terrifying experience surrounded by people accused of violent offences. She never thought she'd be released.
"I was scared," she told CBC last week. "I didn't know who to call. I didn't know what to do."
Under provincial legislation, a medical officer of health is allowed to apply to a court to apprehend and detain anyone they believe is a threat to public health.
In this case, a medical officer said Mason wasn't consistently taking the medication needed to cure her tuberculosis, an infectious disease that can be fatal if not treated, said the apprehension order obtained by CBC News.
Mason could have been detained at a health facility or another location to be quarantined, but instead jail was chosen by the medical officer.
"That's just not the right way to do it, and I think anyone reading that story would probably feel the same way," Kinew said, adding he will apologize to Mason.
"I did basically say, 'We're not doing this again. Give me the paperwork to back it up.'"
A copy of the directive, signed by Dr. Brent Roussin, was provided to CBC early Tuesday. It said that if it is determined that detention is required to protect public health, the person must be sent to a health facility. This eliminates the possibility of someone being sent to jail.
Doesn't change what happened: Lawyer
Mason did not have a lawyer when she was incarcerated and there was no public hearing. The detention was approved by a judicial justice of the peace.
Leif Jensen, a legal aid lawyer, took on her case after she was detained and filed an application for her release on Nov. 18.
Jensen said he was happy the premier took the situation seriously, but said it doesn't change what happened to Mason.
"But it doesn't change the fact that Geraldine spent a month in jail and that she had all the loss that came from a month in jail," he said.
WATCH | Premier Wab Kinew announces from now on, no one will go to jail for TB treatment:
Mason was supposed to be released at the end of January — meaning she would have spent Christmas behind bars — but after CBC asked to interview her, she was released.
One of the conditions of her release is that she Facetimes with a health-care worker every day at 1:30 p.m. to make sure she is taking her medication.
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs issued a statement on Tuesday condemning what happened to Mason, calling it "extreme and egregious."
They said the incarceration highlighted the systemic failures faced by First Nations in the public health and justice system.
"The incarceration of a First Nations mother for public health reasons is unacceptable," acting grand chief Betsy Kennedy said in the statement.
The AMC called for an immediate review of the Public Health Act and a public apology from the province to Mason and her family.
After a delayed flight because of weather, Mason made her way home to God's Lake Monday, and said she is grateful no one else will have to experience what she went through.
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