Liberal legislation aimed at limiting how long inmates can be kept in solitary
OTTAWA — The federal government introduced legislation Monday to restrict the use of solitary confinement inside federal prisons and to better protect prisoners with mental illness or at risk of self-harm or suicide.
Once passed, the bill would — for the first time — impose a so-called legislative framework establishing a time limit for what prison officials call administrative segregation.
The bill — part of the Liberal government’s broader efforts at criminal justice reform, which include reducing the number of indigenous Canadians behind bars — was introduced with just a week left in the spring parliamentary calendar, meaning it’s unlikely to come up for debate before the fall.
It also comes after several high-profile solitary confinement cases, including the 2007 death of Ashley Smith of Moncton, N.B., an emotionally disturbed 19-year-old who died in custody after tying a strip of cloth around her neck.