No More Deaths in Custody
Please scroll to the bottom to contact the Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, Premier Doug Ford, your Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) and Superintendent of Maplehurst.
Mysterious Deaths in Custody
On February 23, 2022 Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project was made aware of reports of mysterious deaths happening at Maplehurst Correctional Centre. It has been reported by loved ones of those inside and current prisoners at Maplehurst that 4 people have died at Maplehurst in 2022 and over 11 people have died in the past four months.
The lack of acknowledgement or awareness by the Ministry of the Solicitor General, provincial and federal governments, lawyers and media around COVID-19 related deaths and other deaths in custody is disturbing and unacceptable.
When a death involving a person in custody occurs, it is the subject of multiple drawn-out investigations called a Coroners Inquest, which allows the Ministry of the Solicitor General and legal institutions to delay justice indefinitely. These inquests continue the abuse of power and privilege, often generating excuses for the death of a human being with no systemic and transformative changes made, nor meaningful accountability from the systems that failed those who have experienced carceral violence. Inquests perpetuate the suffering and traumatization of families who are left even further away from justice than ever.
Mysterious deaths have been happening and hidden behind the walls of jails and prisons for decades. Families demanding justice for their loved ones who died in custody must go through horrific challenges to find out the cause of death and if it was preventable. We have watched the devastating story of Soleimin Faqiri play out in the media for the past 5 years with no accountability or justice. In a report released August 10, 2021, the province’s chief forensic pathologist, Dr. Michael Pollanen said Soleiman Faqiri died on December 15, 2016, after being beaten, pepper-sprayed and restrained face-down in a segregation cell during a health crisis, at the Central East Correctional Facility in Lindsay, ON. Soleiman’s story, however, is one of the many incidents of misconduct and violence that regularly occur behind the walls of these institutions.
Unfortunately, we are seeing a dramatic increase in deaths and mental health crises arise within Ontario correctional institutions due to mismanagement and neglect by the Solicitor general and the Ontario government throughout the COVID pandemic, as well as the opioid and toxic drug supply crisis pandemic inside.
The harmful use of endless 23+ hour lockdowns as a ‘COVID measure’ and a way to deal with staff shortages has resulted in increased numbers of attempted suicide at Central East Correctional Centre. In March 2021, there were 2 deaths in the same week at Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, followed by a 3rd death in July 2021. In the same month, an 85-year-old man who was detained and awaiting a mental health assessment died at Toronto East Detention Centre which was reported as covid related death. Fort Frances jail in Thunder Bay reported at least one death in 2021 while Thunder Bay district jail reported at least one prisoner death in 2020. In December 2021, Windsor jail reported 3 deaths.
In the most recent report by the government, 29 prisoners have been reported to have died in custody between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020. We know from community members that this number is grossly underestimated. However, that is at least 29 government-reported deaths that could have been prevented if we did not rely on our violent carceral system to cage people who instead need and deserve social support within their communities.
We are calling on the Ontario government and the Ontario Human Rights Commission to act immediately by holding the superintendent of Maplehurst Correctional Centre, Doug Barker, and Sylvia Jones, Solicitor General, accountable for their lack of action to prevent deaths in custody. It is important that they are identified to the public and removed from their positions immediately.
We are also calling on the Ontario Government to pass legislation that makes inquest recommendations legally binding, which will allow for jails to be held accountable to implement changes to prevent further deaths.
KEY ISSUES:
We are calling on the Ontario government and the Ontario Human Rights Commission to act immediately by holding the superintendent of Maplehurst Correctional Centre, Doug Barker, and Sylvia Jones, Solicitor General, accountable for their lack of action to prevent deaths in custody. Over 10 deaths have happened in 4 months at Maplehurst Correctional Centre. It is important that they are identified to the public and removed from their positions immediately.
Make Inquest recommendations legally binding, holding jails accountable to implement changes to prevent further deaths. Inquests continue the abuse of power and privilege, often generating excuses for the death of a human being with no systemic and transformative changes made, nor meaningful accountability from the systems that failed those who have experienced carceral violence.
Release of Information. Release public acknowledgement of prisoner deaths in provincial custody, just like Correctional Services Canada (CSC) does for federal deaths.
Equitable Access to Healthcare. Ensure prisoners receive equitable access to healthcare by transferring the provision of health care in provincial jails to the Ministry of Health. Allow prisoners to receive necessary treatments and attend appointments outside of the institution as needed.
Reinstate the Corrections WatchDog and Community Advisory Boards (CAB). There needs to be true independent oversight of the correctional system in Ontario to ensure that the safety, human rights and health needs of prisoners are met. The first Community Advisory Board was implemented in 2013 to address violence and poor conditions at Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC). Six more CABs were created with the understanding that each community advisory board was to spend a year visiting and observing their assigned detention centre in order to complete a report based on those observations. The province was then to review the recommendations and respond to them in a public report. The last time reports from the seven boards were released to the public was in summer 2017, which was based on observations made by the boards in 2016. These CABs were quietly dismantled by Doug Ford to decrease any community oversight of our provincial jails. We want CABs reinstated and yearly reports publicly available.