Former Manitoba inmate suing over 'cruel, inhumane' prolonged solitary confinement at Stony Mountain

A former national boxing champion who says he spent 27 consecutive months in solitary confinement at a Manitoba prison is suing the Attorney General of Canada and the staff at Stony Mountain Institution, calling it "cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment and/or torture."

Ralph (Junior) Moar, who has spoken about his experience in solitary confinement with CBC News in the past, alleges staff at Stony Mountain and the Attorney General of Canada failed in their duties of care, violated his charter rights and "repeatedly mistreated and abused" him, says a statement of claim filed in the Court of King's Bench on Sept. 28.

"I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy to be in a place like that," he said in an interview with CBC News in April.

Moar spent four years behind bars at Stony Mountain Institution, a federal prison. After a drive-by shooting, he was charged with attempted murder and eventually found guilty of discharging a firearm.

Of those four years, which ended in 2005, he spent 27 months in solitary confinement after getting in a fight, which was "cruel, inhumane and degrading," the statement of claim says.

"Moar's extended and unreasonable placement in prolonged solitary confinement caused him to suffer from severe stress, anxiety and depression, amongst other things," the statement of claim says.

"Often, Moar would be confined to his cell for a full 24 hours a day. The only opportunities he had to leave his cell were to exercise, shower and use the phone for half an hour, three times per week."

Federal government agencies failed to investigate alternatives to solitary confinement, construct facilities to provide him with meaningful human contact while addressing security concerns, and safeguard his mental and physical health, the claim says.

CBC News asked the Attorney General of Canada and Correctional Services Canada for comment on Monday afternoon and did not receive a response that day.

No statement of defence had been filed as of Monday.

Following court rulings finding people's charter rights were violated while they were incarcerated, the Canadian government officially abolished administrative segregation in November 2019 and replaced it with a new system known as structured intervention units (SIU).

Under the SIU system, inmates must be given at least four hours a day outside their cells, including two hours of "meaningful human contact."

The United Nation's Nelson Mandela rules, adopted by Canada in 2015, say isolation for more than 22 hours a day amounts to solitary confinement, and solitary confinement lasting more than 15 days amounts to "torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

Moar alleges in the statement of claim that the plaintiffs violated his charter right to be free from cruel and unusual treatment and punishment.

They also violated his charter rights when he received punishment and deprivation of his liberty over and above the sentence he was condemned to serve, it says.

Moar was sometimes placed in confinement to protect him from other prisoners, which was also a violation of his rights, the claim says.

It also says he was subjected to additional punishment when his family members tried to question his placement in solitary confinement.

Moar is seeking damages to address a long list of psychological needs, loss of income due to impaired ability to obtain employment and "a substantial award of punitive damages."

The financial reparations Moar seeks will not only compensate him for his suffering and vindicate his fundamental rights, but will deter systemic violations going forward, the court document says.

Earlier this year, what was then known as Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench ruled that inmates in the province who were placed in solitary confinement can proceed with a class-action lawsuit.

The class action will cover any person in Manitoba who spent 15 or more consecutive days in solitary confinement at any point since December 1992.

CBC News has asked Moar and his lawyers if he plans to be part of the class action in addition to pursuing his own lawsuit, but they didn't respond.