Families of EMDC victims eye Junos as place to protest jail conditions
Lynn Pigeau says she wants to use the spotlight to bring attention to intractable problems at EMDC
The sister of an inmate who died at London's Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC) last January says she's so frustrated by a lack of action at the troubled jail that she's ready to ramp things up by organizing a protest at the Juno Awards.
Lynn Pigeau became an outspoken critic of EMDC following her brother James' death in January 2018 of an apparent overdose while in custody.
At the time, James Pigeau was awaiting trial for charges of robbery and theft.
Since then, Lynn Pigeau has protested outside the jail and has met with the jail's advisory board to press for change, but she said progress isn't happening fast enough.
Pigeau had also arranged to meet directly with then-minister of community safety and corrections Michael Tibollo, but after that meeting was cancelled, she said she's received no further overtures from the province.
Now, Pigeau is adopting a new set of tactics to bring the troubled jail directly into public view.
"We're not [at the Junos] to break the law, we're just there to bring awareness to EMDC London," said Pigeau, who also plans to rally at Queen's Park.
"A lot of these people, they pick up causes like that so we're hoping to spark somebody's attention."
Petition for change
To that end, Pigeau also launched a change.org petition this week, calling on the ministry to commit to better protection for guards and a secure way of separating violent offenders from non-violent offenders.
Pigeau said sitting through the trial of former EMDC guards Stephen Jurkus and Leslie Lonsbary this winter was "an eye-opener" about the violence facing guards and inmates alike.
"A lot of those guards, they're caught between a rock and a hard place — they want to get home to their families at the end of the day also," she said, adding that she believes the jail needs to hire more guards to help existing staff deal with violent inmates.
"We're rallying change for them just as much for inmates."
Despite coming at the issue from different perspectives and with different strategies, Janet Laverty, president of the union local that represents guards at EMDC, said she and Pigeau ultimately have the same goal.
"There needs to be an investment and there needs to be change happening," said Laverty.
Change for her means better staffing, more training and re-training for guards and clearer sanctions for violent behaviour.
"There's been a lot of talk but there hasn't been a lot of action," she said. "There needs to be an investment and there needs to be an investment rather quickly."