Inmate says his health is suffering from spending weeks in RCMP lockup due to prison closure

An Inuk inmate says he's been kept in the RCMP lockup in Happy Valley-Goose Bay for the past four weeks because of a prison closure and it's taking a toll on his mental and physical health.

Johannes Semigak told CBC News he's been spending 23½ hours a day in confinement at the lockup since Aug. 12.

"It's really hard in the lockup here, not moving around much. I'm spending most of my day sitting down or laying down. I just miss walking around on the unit," said Semigak in a recent interview.

Labrador Correctional Centre is temporarily closed due to an asbestos abatement process, expected to be concluded in the fall, and inmates have been relocated to other facilities throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Semigak is awaiting sentencing — potentially as soon as this week — after pleading guilty earlier this year to manslaughter in his brother's death in 2020. He said his lawyer told him he might get credit for time served, but if he's given more prison time, he isn't sure if that would mean staying in the small police cell or being moved to another correctional facility elsewhere.

"I'm hearing from the correctional officers the facilities in the province are all full. So I don't know what's going to happen to me after my court date," said Semigak.

Conditions at the Labrador Correctional Centre were better than the RCMP cell, especially when it came to opportunities to socialize with other people, he said.

"I miss listening to radio in the mornings," he said. "I miss watching TV. I miss being on the unit with the boys."

Semigak also used to play cards with other inmates and spent time outside in the recreational yard, accessing programs as well as video calls with members of his family.

Semigak said the conditions in the lockup are hurting his mental health.

"There's drunks coming in here daily, bawling," he said. "It's really taken a toll on my mental and physical health. I'm not thinking right. I'm not seeing the stuff right."

The provincial Public Safety Department declined a CBC News request for an interview with minister Bernard Davis. In a  statement, department spokesperson Eric Humber said the lockup is being used to house inmates with upcoming court dates.

Labrador Correctional Centre staff have access to visit inmates to ensure daily showers and family phone calls occur, and to ensure access is provided to lawyers and counsellors.  Case management services are also being offered, said Humber.

"Offenders have also been connected to services provided through Nunatsiavut government and Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation, as well as the health authority for psychological and medical services."

Semigak said Davis should act to improve conditions for incarcerated Indigenous people so they can access programs. He'd like to see a program that addresses alcohol dependence. 

In his nearly 20 years interacting with the criminal justice system, he said, he's taken part only in a 21-day Indigenous-specific trauma and addictions treatment program offered by the Natuashish Healing Lodge. He said it "went deep down inside" to help him realize he had a problem with alcohol.

"The justice system, they judge people by the cover when they should be reading the whole novel," Semigak said. "Look at what you're doing to Indigenous persons."

Semigak said the correctional system should be trying to improve his life but instead it's failing him.

Not ideal: justice services co-ordinator

Erin Broomfield, the Nunatsiavut government's regional justice services co-ordinator, said having inmates in a police lockup isn't ideal.

"When you're being housed in a lockup, there's not the types of services and resources available to individuals if they were in the actual correctional facility," she said.

For instance, Broomfield said, inmates in a lockup don't get outdoor recreation time, which helps their physical and mental health, or access to rehabilitative programs or other types of resources.

Inmates in lockup can be held in confinement from 20 to 23 hours a day because the facility isn't set up like a correctional facility, she added.

She said the conditions definitely have a negative impact on people. It can be very difficult for inmates to be around intoxicated people who are being briefly held in the police lockup, she said, and she's worried that inmates' mental health health will worsen while the prison is closed.

"It's important to recognize that any time somebody is in jail — whether it's lockup or they're in a correctional facility — these are people who most likely have trauma, different types of mental health issues," said Broomfield.

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