On January 17, 2018, the B.C. Supreme Court issued its decision in BCCLA and JHSC v. Attorney General of Canada, 2018 BCSC 62. The Court declared that the sections of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (“CCRA”) that allow for indefinite solitary confinement (referred to as “administrative segregation” in the legislation) are of no force or effect.
The Court held that the laws violate s. 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in that they permit prolonged, indefinite solitary confinement, fail to provide an independent review of segregation placements and deprive prisoners of the right to counsel at segregation review hearings. The Court further held that the laws violate s. 15 of the Charter to the extent that the laws authorize any period of administrative segregation for the mentally ill or disabled, and to the degree that the regime discriminates against Indigenous prisoners.
Read the full article here.
