Doubling of inmate deaths in Ontario prompts call for correctional oversight body

A spike in inmate deaths in Ontario has prompted dozens of advocacy groups, academics and others to send an open letter to the province's solicitor general calling for an "independent oversight body for correctional institutions."

A report from Tracking (In)Justice, a law enforcement and criminal justice transparency project says a total of 41 people died in the custody of Ontario correctional institutions in 2021, almost double the number in 2020. Deaths have been largely on the rise since 2015, the project says. Between 2010 and 2021, more than 280 people have died in custody in Ontario.

"When someone loses their life, what do you say to the mother and to the brother to the sister, to the father? Well, here they are in a body bag. And that's your problem now?" said Yusuf Faqiri, whose late brother Soleiman was pepper-sprayed, shackled and held down by guards in an Ontario jail before his death. Faqiri's organization, Justice For Soli, is one of the signatories to the letter, which was sent this week.

"Corrections cannot transform itself, we need a civilian oversight … external partners to transform the system," he told CBC Toronto Monday in an interview.

In the federal system, the Office of the Correctional Investigator hears complaints about mistreatment, raises systemic issues and makes recommendations. Ontario has no equivalent and advocates, academics and families of those incarcerated say a similar provincial entity could help bring accountability and transparency when deaths occur.

Inmate deaths 'a concern for everybody'

The open letter to Solicitor General Michael Kerzner was signed by more than 40 organizations and many more individuals.

"The Ministry of the Solicitor General must address preventable deaths in provincial jails and prisons by taking immediate action to improve oversight, transparency, and accountability," the letter reads.

The signatories say the ministry should create a "dedicated independent oversight body to help ensure timely reporting on deaths in custody and assist in taking urgent action to increase the safety of the people who are being detained in Ontario institutions."

The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies is one of the signatories to the letter.

"We don't have a death sentence in this country. And yet, to have people dying in our jails and our prisons, and to not have answers as to why they died should be a concern for everybody," said Emilie Coyle, the association's executive director. 

Each day, many people are incarcerated in Ontario institutions who have not yet had a trial, some of whom may never be convicted of a crime, Coyle said.

"Whether you're on remand, or whether you're not, whether you're serving a sentence that has been delivered by the courts, or whether you're still awaiting tria ...  a person deserves to be treated with dignity, and to have their human rights upheld and to not go to prison to die." she said.

"The correctional system counts on the general public not to care about the treatment of people in prisons and jails. And so because of that, we have very little data around what happens in those prisons and jails," Coyle added.

Lindsay Jennings, a researcher with Tracking (In)Justice, says from her personal experience being incarcerated, she believes that "the increase in deaths is due to declining mental health, inhumane conditions inside correctional institutions, lack of compliance from correctional officers and staff and inadequate health care."

Some experts have also speculated some cases are linked to COVID-19 in some way, between infection and increased isolation. Advocates agree they don't fully know why some of these deaths are happening without more information and that's the crux of the issue.

In the current system, families are "waiting five, 10 years for an inquest to actually find out the truth," said Jennings. "It's just not fair for anybody involved, including the person that passed."

Justin Piché, a criminology professor at the University of Ottawa and a researcher with the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project, which signed the letter, said while this week's request for an oversight body won't solve everything, it would be "a step in the right direction."

"It would shine a greater light on ... longstanding and emerging issues that exist," he said. But he also stressed that making sure such a body "has teeth" is essential.

Piché said the Office of the Correctional Investigator has been important in shedding light on systemic issues in those federal prisons, but recommendations can be largely ignored.

He says Ontario can look to the federal model, as well as the provincial history with Community Advisory Boards, volunteer bodies who were appointed by the solicitor general. They had access to and provided feedback about issues at particular correctional facilities but the province disbanded them in June of 2021.

Health and safety 'paramount,' province says

So far, the provincial government isn't saying what it will do with the call for action.

Andrew Morrison, a spokesperson for the Office of the Solicitor General, said in a statement that the ministry had received the letter and considers the health and safety of those in Ontario's correctional facilities to be "paramount."

"Ministry officials have been working closely with the chief coroner and his team in support of the Correctional Services Death Review," he said, referring to an investigation launched last year by Dr. Dirk Huyer, Ontario's chief coroner, into inmate deaths going back seven years.

Morrison added the ministry is committed to working with its partners to prevent inmate deaths.

But Piché said getting it right would certainly involve stakeholders and also ensuring recommendations become reality.

"I'm hopeful, but pessimistic."