Finding 'family out of tragedy': People who lost loved ones at Ontario jails rally at HWDC

Families who lost loved ones at jails across the province met outside the Barton jail for a rally Monday night, brought together by tragedy but united in a common goal — correcting corrections in Ontario.

For many of those who gathered it was a reminder that they're not alone in their loss, or in their fight for change.

"It's a bond that nobody wants really," explained Amy McKechnie, whose brother died at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre (HWDC) in 2017. "We've become family out of tragedy."

The rally comes after suspected overdoses sent seven inmates from the HWDC to hospital last week, bringing the total number to 20 so far this year, according to Hamilton EMS. At least three of those suspected overdoses were fatal. Since 2010 there have been at least 16 overdose deaths at the jail.

It was led by Lynn Pigeau, whose brother Jamie died at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre last year.

Now she's walking 184 kilometres to Queen's Park, visiting other troubled jails along the way to educate the public about the problems in corrections and to put pressure on the government to make changes that will save lives.

'Together we will beat this monster'

Gesturing at the row of crosses bearing the names and photos of people who have died at the HWDC since 2012, Pigeau praised what families here have done to remind the public that they were more than just prisoners.

So at the same time it's good you're not alone, but it's very, very sad.- April Tykloiz

"These people were loved. They were born with names, they have to be known. Don't stop, we can't give up," she said.

"I walk not just for the EMDC, I walk for Hamilton, I walk for Niagara, I walk for everywhere there's a death. They all walk with me to Queen's Park.

"Together we will beat this monster."

Pigeau and two friends started walking Saturday and they have already stopped at jails in Woodstock, Brantford (now closed), in addition to the EMDC and HWDC.

Along the way, a gravestone bearing her brother's name "James" caught her eye and when she came into Hamilton and saw the same name on street signs she took it as a message.

"That really hit me. I know my brother is on the walk with me."

Lawyer says same problems seen across Ontario

Lawyer Kevin Egan, who has worked closely with the EMDC families and represented the Tykoliz family during Hamilton's super inquest into eight overdose deaths, also came to the city for the rally.

Reading through the 62 recommendations from that inquest, he said it showed the facility is "overcrowded, there's poor supervision, violence, [and] drugs everywhere."

Egan also said he was struck by how many problems the Hamilton jail shares with the EMDC, where there have been 14 deaths since 2009.

He pointed to the ministry's refusal to meet several of the recommendations such as real-time monitoring of cameras, which he said have come up again and again in inquests across the province.

"It's all over Ontario, the same kinds of problems."

The Ministry's response to the inquest outlined some of the ways its policies are already meeting the recommendations. In statements sent after the latest suspected overdoses, a spokesperson said issues like violence, mental health and addiction are complex and won't be fixed overnight.

For April Tykoliz, whose brother Marty Tykoliz's death was part of the super inquest, the rally brought feelings of frustration.

While it was encouraging to be surrounded by so many people who have gone through the same thing, she said many deaths in jails happen because of the ministry not following its own policies.

"I don't feel a lot of these [deaths] would have happened had we dealt with [things] to begin with when it happened with my brother," she said. "So at the same time it's good you're not alone, but it's very, very sad."

Pigeau left the HWDC Monday night and headed to the Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton on her way to the Toronto South Detention Centre and finally Queen's Park where she's arranged a meeting with NDP corrections critic Kevin Yarde and several London area MPPs on May 30.

In a statement released in support of the rally, two Hamilton NDP MPPs said it's wrong for the Ford government to "ignore" recommendations from the super inquest.

"The Liberals let the corrections crisis facing Hamilton and other Ontario cities like London and Niagara spiral out of control," stated Hamilton Mountain MPP Monique Taylor.

"Doug Ford is making things worse, allowing these inhumane conditions to continue, with too few resources to stop the flow of drugs into facilities like Hamilton-Wentworth."

Signatures symbolic of mission

Pigeau had her own words for the premier and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones Monday, telling them to stop making excuses and start fixing problems.

As she left the rally a group of family members formed around her, using a permanent marker to write their names on her white shirt.

The signatures covering her back and shoulders are a reminder of everyone she carries with her on her walk.

"It's symbolic. It's all their loved ones and after I want to take it and frame it," she said. "I'm going to put it in a memorial box with my brother's picture because this was his mission."