#burnside jail

On August 21, the prisoners at the Central Nova provincial jail in Burnside launched a peaceful protest, in solidarity with a nationwide prisoner strike in the United States, to call for basic improvements in health care, rehabilitation, exercise, visits, clothing, food, air quality and library access. The protest is ongoing. East Coast Prison Justice Society stands in support of the Burnside prisoners’ efforts to alert the public to their urgent concerns. These concerns speak to ongoing gaps between provincial correctional practices and the fundamental human rights accorded to prisoners under both domestic and international law. Among the concerns identified by the prisoners is lack of access to health care, including for serious mental or physical illness. This is an ongoing crisis at the Burnside jail compromising the lives and safety of some of the most vulnerable members of our communities. Lack of programming responsive to addictions and other problems directly relevant to criminalization and community re-integration is another urgent issue that the prisoners have legitimately brought forward. A disproportionate proportion of provincial and federal prisoners are Indigenous or Black. Most are poor. Many struggle with addictions and mental health problems. A full 57 percent of those held in provincial correctional facilities in Nova Scotia are awaiting trial and therefore are presumed innocent. Some are held for months or even years prior to trial. All of these prisoners experience serious threats to their health and safety in our provincial facilities. 

“The organizers of this protest assert that we are being warehoused as inmates, not treated as human beings. We have tried through other means including complaint, conversation, negotiation, petitions, and other official and non-official means to improve our conditions. We now call upon our supporters outside these walls to stand with us in protesting our treatment.

We join in this protest in solidarity with our brothers in prison in the United States who are calling for a prison strike from August 21st to September 9th. We support the demands of our comrades in the United States, and we join their call for justice.

Our demands in Nova Scotia are different, and we note that they are comparatively more modest. We are part of an international call for justice and we recognize the roots of this struggle in a common history of struggle and liberation.

We are not the first, and we will not be the last.”

After weeks without comment, Nova Scotia’s justice minister has issued a response to the ongoing prisoner protest at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility. In an op-ed sent out Thursday afternoon, Mark Furey says that correctional facilities “can be challenging places to live and work,” but that the province is respecting and protecting the rights of those incarcerated. “Every inmate deserves respect and their human rights protected,” writes Furey. “And we are doing that. They are in custody because they have been charged criminally and the community does not accept the behaviour.” It’s the first official comment from the justice minister about the inmates inside Central Nova, who three weeks ago joined together in solidarity with prison strikes taking place across the United States. 

As part of the non-violent protest, the Burnside inmates also published a list of 10 specific demands about their own inadequate conditions—asking for better health care, improved air circulation, stronger rehabilitation programs and more sanitary living conditions. Furey’s statement does not specifically address those demands, instead highlighting several efforts Nova Scotia has made over the last year to improve prison conditions. Included in that list is Burnside’s new direct supervision model (which inmates say feature toilets that don’t flush and cells without water), body scanners to reduce contraband (technology that prison staff are untrained to use and for which any inmates who refuse are placed into solitary confinement) and the first-ever inmate services job fair. 

Crown wraps case against first six inmates accused in vicious N.S. jail assault – Halifax | Globalnews.ca

The Crown closed its case Tuesday in the first of three trials involving Nova Scotia inmates accused of conspiring and attempting to murder a newly arrived prisoner. Prosecutor Rick Woodburn said in court Tuesday that Justice Jamie Campbell has a responsibility to use video to track the key actions of the six defendants, from the victim’s 7:20 p.m. arrival in the unit until he was helped out of…

On March 18, the Justice Department announced it was taking extra steps to follow requests from Nova Scotia public health officials to limit the number of people coming in and out of the four provincial jails, and reduce those awaiting trial on remand.

As of Wednesday, as many as 180 people have been released from custody through bail agreements or temporary absences, according to the Department of Justice and the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service.

Before the releases, the Justice Department said there were 452 people in provincial custody. As of Tuesday night, the adult inmate population was down by nearly half, to 251. Jail populations typically fluctuate day-to-day, as new people are taken into custody and others finish sentences.

"There was a big push to reduce numbers as quickly as possible," said Chris Hansen, spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service. "We're trying to maintain the public safety, and at the same time do our bit to protect public health."

The temporary absences were given to some people serving intermittent sentences (typically served only on weekdays, with weekends in the community, or vice versa) and individuals who were within 30 days of completing their sentence and not subject to a domestic violence sentence.

Others were released as a result of bail hearings, carried out with the help of electronics to allow lawyers and clients to do a lot of work virtually, Hansen said.

Crown lawyers initially looked at "several hundred files" to re-evaluate their original opposition to certain inmates being released on bail.

They made decisions based on the seriousness of the charges, facts of the cases, criminal history and the accused's release plan, including details like where they would live. Another piece was whether the accused could provide money or property that ensured they would follow conditions and return to court on their assigned date.

The Crown worked with defence lawyers on the various cases.

Chief Judge Pamela Williams of the provincial court held video bail reviews on the weekend of March 21-22 and again on Easter Monday so people could be quickly released, Jennifer Stairs, spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Judiciary, wrote in an email.

Video bail hearings were also held during regular court hours over the past few weeks with provincial judges across the province.

Stairs said community organizations were also involved "to ensure housing and other supports were in place" for those people leaving jail.

On top of public safety, Hansen said the Crown is now considering public health on a "case-by-case basis" for bail applications.

"There were many Crowns working diligently on this over weeks and weekends and into the night, to feel comfortable with each case," Hansen said. "They were assured as they could be that this would present absolutely no public safety issue."

One inmate at the Burnside jail has been confirmed to have the virus, said Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Robert Strang. The inmate has been in an isolated health-care cell since their admission to the facility to minimize contact with staff and other inmates.

Justice Department spokesperson Barbara MacLean said more personal protective equipment has been used since the pandemic began. She said inmates who require medical attention get the health services they need.

MacLean said the affected inmate is receiving the appropriate care and will remain in a health-care cell until cleared by health officials.

MacLean said their COVID-19 measures include enhanced cleaning, extra screening of staff and daily screening questions and check-ins with inmates and staff with resources to help people cope with the stress of the pandemic.”

The Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth, better known as the Burnside jail, has kept inmates in their cells for all but one hour of the day, sometimes for days or weeks at a time.

"It's just pretty hard on the head, especially with staying in contact with family, everyone's worried," an inmate told CBC Radio's Information Morning. "Just imagine being locked in your bedroom for 23 hours out of the day.

"We're all being penalized for something when none of us have done anything wrong."

CBC News has agreed not to identify the man because he fears he'll be targeted by correctional officers for speaking out.

A vicious cycle

While several inmates have gone to court over the lockdowns, arguing it violates their charter rights, management at the jail has said guards needed to take action because inmates were yelling death threats.

But the inmate who spoke to CBC News said Burnside is relying on lockdowns because guards are afraid of overseeing large numbers of inmates as part of a new direct-supervision model which involves arranging cells around a living area where staff are stationed.

He said going to court has become a waste of time because whenever inmates get in front of a judge, the facility lifts the lockdown and the case is dismissed.

"Then within days after the judge refused to hear the case because we've been unlocked, the facility relocks the units down … It's like a loophole that they escape the habeas corpus application," he said.

"It just continues and continues and it's been going on for a while."

The province's Department of Justice said direct supervision is widely considered best practice and allows for early intervention before incidents escalate.

El Jones, a prisoners' rights activist, said keeping inmates in their cells in this way is "worse than solitary confinement."

"As they're held in these conditions, they get anxiety, they get depression, they're experiencing mental health problems, that causes problems with the staff," she said.

"And the whole atmosphere and culture of the jail gets more and more violent, more and more stressful and then the response is to lock people down even more and the cycle continues."

Inmates being strip-searched, says advocate

She said she's heard from some inmates that they're being strip-searched, sometimes repeatedly throughout the day.

"You're talking about lifting your genitals and bending over and all of that happening, and that's happening to them six or seven times every day just to go to court and that is illegal under both the Corrections Act and the Human Rights Act," she said.

The Justice Department said strip-searches are only conducted when an inmate goes to court and returns to the jail. Suggestions that strip-searches are happening upward of seven times per transfer to and from court are false, the department said.

Jones said none of the demands inmates made during a peaceful protest in August has been met and she wants a full inquiry into how the jail is being run.

The inmate who spoke to CBC News said the situation has "only become harder on the people incarcerated."

"It's not like anyone is looking for some handout or leniency, we're just looking to be treated fairly while we're incarcerated."

Improvements implemented

Heather Fairbairn, a spokesperson for the Justice Department, acknowledged in an email Wednesday that "correctional facilities can be challenging environments in which to live and work."

However, she pointed to a number of improvements that have been made to Burnside over the last year, including upgrades to its heating and cooling systems, better food, and increased access to mental health and addictions programming. There is also a greater emphasis on staff training, especially where mental health is concerned, she said.

"We are focused on doing things differently and being more responsive to the needs of inmates and staff," Fairbairn wrote.

"Correctional Services is an ever-evolving environment and we continue to work ... to ensure that inmates are treated with respect while getting the support, safety and security that is required while in custody."

A comment I heard on CBC Radio recently, made by someone who had been sentenced time and time again to the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility, resonated deeply with me:

"This facility gets worse and worse every time I come back."

Another brother stated, "When you're housed in this facility to be rehabilitated but instead you're warehoused like merchandise, your government has failed you."

The truth in these comments is real to me, even though it's my first time being incarcerated. I personally feel that the public should be very much concerned with what has taken place inside the Burnside jail, because it is they, as taxpayers, who keep these doors open.

"Rehabilitation" and "transparency" are two words that should never be used in describing this facility. The bare necessities required for a healthy and productive life aren't being provided here. Every time you can't get a towel, a change of clothes, or a pair of shoes your size — "your government has failed you," as my friend said.

Conditions at Burnside

Last Sunday, as we listened to callers to CBC tell us that we don't deserve breathable air because if you "do the crime, you do the time," three new people came onto our range without clothes, shoes or a towel to even take a shower. People have been assigned to this range without a change of underwear, or a mattress and without even a radio to pass the time.

It's hard to even get a Tylenol, never mind medical treatment. I've seen people with diabetes and asthma not get the medication they need. If you don't believe us about the conditions in here, you should believe the auditor general's reports, or even what staff who work here have been saying.

There hasn't been any programing for months, and we've been locked down for 23 hours per day. We are guaranteed time outside in accordance with the Corrections Act, but it only seems to matter to people that you get punished for breaking the rules when it's our rights that are being violated.

We must also keep in mind that the majority (around two-thirds) at Burnside are here on remand. They, in the eyes of the law, are innocent until proven guilty. And those who are here who have been sentenced, well, they then have been sent to Burnside as punishment, not for punishment.

Our children are certainly innocent, and yet they can go years without even touching us, because they have to visit us behind glass. Most people don't let their children go through that.

We are still human beings.

This is why we at Burnside are engaged in a peaceful protest. Through it, we hope to spread awareness of our plight, and raise the voices of the voiceless through solidarity with the communities we've come from, as well as activists who hear our call for dignity and constitutionally appropriate treatment.

We are making sure that nobody is confrontational with the guards because we want this to remain peaceful. Since August 19, when we released our statement, no one on the range has received a single disciplinary infraction. We are keeping ourselves calm and ordered because we want our non-violent message to be carried by those outside in solidarity with us.

Getting eyes on Burnside

The old ways of conversation, complaints, petitions and negotiations no longer work, and we want to avoid the violence of past protests. In those cases, people might refuse lock up, or damage property, but our protest is principled.

Through our outside support network, we decided to take a different approach, which has gained national and global attention. Right now, across the country, a lot of eyes are on Burnside — perhaps more than ever before — and so before the next "hot" news hits the papers, and the attention shifts to the next "hot" story, we hope to gain some traction in addressing some of the serious issues of our current situation.

We strikers want to send a big token of appreciation to all those who are in solidarity with us. Those who have spoken on our behalf, and shared our story. And for those still on the fence, it's important to remember the words of Nelson Mandela: "It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones."