For Immediate Release
Ottawa, Ontario, February 18, 2016. The Correctional Investigator of Canada, Mr. Howard Sapers, issued the following statement on the release of the Québec Ombudsman’s Special Report entitled Detention Conditions, Administration of Justice and Crime Prevention in Nunavik :
“Today’s report from Quebec is very disturbing. It confirms findings made by my Office that detention conditions in Canada’s north often fail to meet minimum standards for safe and humane custody. These sub-standard conditions are overwhelmingly experienced by Indigenous people in remote locations. Today, Indigenous people represent 25% of all federally sentenced offenders and many have entered penitentiaries after having been first locked up in deplorable and debilitating settings.
I commend the Protecteur du Citoyen , Ms. Raymonde Saint-Germain, for tabling this report before the National Assembly and I hope that her recommendations will be well received.”
As the ombudsman for federally sentenced offenders, the Office of the Correctional Investigator serves Canadians and contributes to safe, lawful and humane corrections through independent oversight of the Correctional Service of Canada by providing accessible, impartial and timely investigation of individual and systemic concerns.
Associated Links:
www.protecteurducitoyen.qc.ca
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For more information, please contact:
Ivan Zinger, J.D., Ph.D.
Executive Director and General Counsel
(613) 990-2690
Date modified
2016-02-18
