Nunavut's notorious jail will no longer use isolation to punish prisoners, says gov't

An official with Nunavut's notorious jail says it will no longer punish prisoners with isolation for breaking rules, but a critic says the government is playing "a word game."

"We've done away with disciplinary segregation altogether. So no longer is it an option for the disciplinary board to segregate somebody," said Baffin Correctional Centre's (BCC) new warden, Mickey McLeod. 

The jail's two isolation cells — eight- by 10-feet rooms wrapped in sheet metal — have been repurposed as "assessment cells," according to McLeod.

And the jail's Behavioural Unit, which includes four multi-person cells and two of those assessment cells, is now called the Flex Unit, the warden added. The unit is designated to calm prisoners having difficulties adjusting to life behind bars, McLeod said. 

Doors to the four multi-person cells in the Flex Unit will now be open for six to eight hours a day.

The changes took place over a month ago. McLeod said it's already paying off, though others, including a prisoner at the jail, say it doesn't go far enough to protect prisoners' rights and rehabilitation. 

You kinda lose your mind in that little room, nobody to talk to.- Josephee Ipeelie, prisoner

Courts in a number of Canadian jurisdictions have found prolonged stays in solitary confinement to be a form of torture. The government of Nunavut has denied using prolonged solitary confinement as defined by the United Nations, which says prisoners should not spend 22 or more hours alone without daily access to fresh air or meaningful human contact for more than 15 days. 

But a number of prisoners have described those same conditions at the BCC. The jail has long been plagued by overcrowding, riots and complaints about lack of programming for prisoners.

Previously, BCC prisoners found to have broken jail rules by an internal disciplinary board could be sentenced to a maximum of 15 days in disciplinary segregation, according to Nunavut's Corrections Act. 

But the jail is changing its practice, said McLeod. 

Despite that, prisoners who are "jeopardizing the safety of themselves or others" will still be placed in the same one-person cells for up to seven days, said the territory's Justice Department, in an email.

While the use of assessment cells "would fall under the definition of 'administrative segregation,'" the placement of prisoners in these cells are reviewed daily, said the department.

McLeod said prisoners have only spent a day or two in the assessment cells so far.

"It has been a big change for the environment, culture and relationships that we're working with," said McLeod. 

Josephee Ipeelie, 25, from Grise Fiord said he is currently housed in an assessment cell by his own choice. But in the past he has been put in disciplinary segregation for 15 days.

"You kinda lose your mind in that little room, nobody to talk to," said Ipeelie. "You exist there with a bed and a sheet and you just walk around like three feet, back and forth. They try to use your mind or something, mess around with your heads." 

The warden's new changes have improved things, Ipeelie said — especially keeping some cell doors open during the day so prisoners can socialize. But time in the assessment cell is still tough and made worse by a lack of programming and interactions. 

"They say this is the correctional centre for help, but it's not."

They just have different terms to describe the same thing, which is solitary confinement.- Tom Engel, defence lawyer

Ipeelie, who hasn't finished high school, said he's trying to improve his reading and writing. 

The jail doesn't offer programming for prisoners to complete their high school diploma, Ipeelie said. But if it did, he would jump at the chance. 

"If I finished school, I would've went into a welding program," he said. "That was my dream." 

Ipeelie added it's also difficult to see visitors when in the assessment cell, especially because requests have to be made in writing.

Changing cell names a 'word game'

Tom Engel, a criminal defence lawyer practising in Alberta, said the warden's move away from disciplinary segregation is a step in the right direction.

"That's a good thing to do and consistent with where the case law is moving and consistent with other jurisdictions," he said. 

The reviews of prisoners in segregation cells beyond seven days is an important safeguard, but it's unclear if that will benefit isolated prisoners, he added. 

"You can have all these reviews for someone who's in segregation, but that review can result in the person remaining in segregation or solitary confinement. And it can go on for more than 15 days or it can go on for months." 

Based on what the warden said, it is probable that some prisoners will end up isolated for more than 15 days, Engel said.  

"They are playing a word game here. What they're doing is changing the terminology. They just have different terms to describe the same thing, which is solitary confinement," said Engel.  

"We can't expect that we're going to change our process today and then everything is going to be perfect," said McLeod.

"A lot of trust … needs to be built, and our job over the next several years is to rebuild that trust."