Report of the Société Elizabeth Fry du Québec to

the General Assembly of CAEFS

November 2011

Joliette

Population

At the writing of this report, the total population of Joliette Institution was ninety-four (94) women. Of this number, 13 were classified as maximum, 54 as medium and 27 minimum. Over the summer, two women sentenced to life were transferred to general population. This fall, another one was transferred to the SLE. At the moment, 10 women live in the Maximum Security Unit, four of whom are lifers. Three of them are in the process of transferring to regular population. If there are no more admissions, as of December, the maximum security unit will house five women. The SLE is occupied by six women.

The Maximum Security Unit

The Maximum Security Unit has 12 beds, including two double bunked cells. The Preventive Security section has been infrequently used this summer. It seems as if there has been less trafficking in tobacco. Tobacco-related offenses are the main cause of placement in preventive and disciplinary segregation.

  • June - 7 placements
  • July – 6 placements
  • August – 4 placements
  • September - 4 placements

The maximum security unit has a new representative as the old one has left to integrate into general population. The new representative is Stéphanie Meunier, a new lifer.

The problems identified by Stéphanie Meunier remain the lack of recreational activities and limited programming. She also complains of the behaviour of certain members of the staff who sometimes have a suspicious attitude towards the women. We have looked together at the various options that are available to remedy the situation. In addition, she has also told me that the institution will now be limiting the Christmas Family Day to those inmates whose families will be visiting. I will speak to the Warden about my disagreement with this decision on my next visit.

As for the activities, our Volunteer Coordinator has met with the population to identify their interests.

At the moment of the writing of my report, Serena Nicotine has been in segregation for less than 24 hours at her request. She has had problems with another inmate and prefers to be isolated in order to calm herself down. According to the PW I spoke with, she will be returning to her unit shortly. And also according to this PW, she has made good progress in French. I will see for myself at my next visit. I am excellent at evaluating progress towards bilingualism, especially with Anglophones.

General Population

The Inmate Committee President, Dany Véronneau, finishes his mandate at the end of October as he will leave the prison on Mandatory Release to the halfway house in December. Only one other woman has shown an interest in the post of President, Malina Kansy who was formerly representative of the Maximum Security Unit. Personally, I find that she is a bit immature to be Inmate Committee President. She also tends to limit her role to the organizational aspect. However, we don’t have a choice as nobody else is interested. Dany will assist her until his departure. Dany Véronneau, formerly Linda, has had his gender transformation procedure accepted by the CSC which offers him certain advantages – hormones, specialized medical follow-up, masculine hygiene products, and male clothing. A second person is in the same situation at Joliette Institution. Dany seems very determined in his transformation procedure and wishes to eventually undergo gender reassignment surgery in order to feel in harmony with all aspects of his personality.

Day Parole:

After the wave of emotions caused by the abolition of the expeditive procedure for day parole, the women have adjusted. In April, 14 women should have benefitted from this procedure – many of them have postponed their hearings until the fall. 90% of cases were recommended for a regular Day Parole and the NPB agreed with the Case Management Team. Some were offered a Project Day Parole despite being recommended for regular Day Parole. It should be expected that the Project Day Parole will be used more and more in the coming months and years by the NPB and the CSC. This much stricter form of release is in keeping with the spirit of Bill C-10.

Urinalysis:

Certain women were found to have positive urine tests that they contested because they affirmed that they did not use drugs. They requested a second test be done outside of the institution. These tests revealed that the women were telling the truth – they did not use drugs. For the moment, the administration of Joliette Institution refuses to admit that Health Services is unable to reliably test urine for drugs. One of the women who contested the test results has decided to use the Complaint process regarding this matter.

The Inmate Handbook

The new Inmate Handbook is still not available. We have been waiting for it since spring.

Correctional Investigator

We have a new Correctional Investigator for the prison. Her name is Chantale Mousset. Josée McCann has transferred to another prison.

Complaints and Grievances

We see that very few women in Joliette Institution use the complaint procedure. We have concluded that the women don’t use it because they find it useless since the CSC never elaborates the reasons for the rejection of the complaint. The CSC should be obligated to give their reasons for the rejection of a complaint without having to be asked to. It should go hand in hand with theirresponse.

Lifeline

Maryse Thériault left her post with Lifeline after the Institution told Michel Gagnon of St. Leonard’s that she was having difficulties intergrating and that the staff doubted her ability to be neutral. We noticed that Maryse was very indignant with respect to certain situations that she perceived as injust and that she did not hold her tongue. In fact, she was too critical of the staff and the rules of the institution. According to Michel Gagnon, she had the same problems at Archambault Institution. So, we do not have a Lifeline worker and I do not know of anyone who could hold this post effectively.

Lifers in the Community

We are thrilled to announce that Madame Marcoux, a lifer who is 73 years old and has been on Day Parole at Maison Thérèse –Casgrain for two years has been granted full parole and has gone home.

Dianne Charron has moved to a supervised apartment after having lived with us for three years. The resource houses men and women who suffer from mental health problems. Dianne is exploring life in society with more and more autonomy and is very happy despite sometimes being bored. We will always be there to support her in her little moments of doubt.

Life at Joliette Institution:

The rules concerning life at Joliette Institution change frequently. With the help of the president, we have created a list of the rules that have been modified over the course of the last few months. These changes concern the canteen, personal effects, visit, community activities, etc.

  • Facial care products, body care products and perfume have been removed from the canteen list. These products are now on the list of products to be purchased from the pharmacy for which the budget is much more limited.
  • The Christmas Family Day is now limited to women and their visitors. Those who do not have visitors will not be allowed to attend the Family Day. The reason given for this decision is that Family Days are held to allow women and their families to get together at certain moments of the year. This decision will deprive approximately 30% of the population from attending as they do not have visitors. The administration has responded by telling the Inmate Committee to organize a party for those women who do not have visitors.
  • Flat screen televisions that are not of the brands authorized by the CSC will not be accepted in the institution for security reasons. The Commissioner’s Directive lists three models which are unfortunately more expensive and harder to find.
  • The Inmate Committee of Joliette Institution has many objects that it lends out to inmates such as fans, padlocks, TVs, radios, walkmans, and alarm clocks. From now on, this system will be limited to TVs and alarm clocks. The administration has said that Joliette is the only prison that has such an elaborate system of items to lend and it wishes to be like all of the other institutions.
  • The women are no longer allowed to give clothes or other objects as gifts or donations to other inmates when they are paroled.
  • The Bingo budget has been cut drastically and this without having spoken to the Inmate Committee. The President reminded the administration that it is the women who contribute to the budget during the year in order to have the necessary funds to organize such activities. She has not yet received the reasons that motivated this decision.

Cultural Fair

This fall we invited several members of different cultural communities to meet the women in the institution. Many representatives from diverse communities accepted the invitation. The women had the opportunity to meet members of the following communities: Peru, Japan, Haiti, Senegal, South Asia, and the First Nations. The members of these groups shared their cultures through different objects, books, photographs, and clothing that were displayed in the prison gymnasium. It was an occasion of exchange between women who appreciated the generosity of their visitors. We saw a demonstration of a traditional Peruvian dance; an inmate served as a model and wore the traditional kimono; and we danced and sang with the members of the Haitian and Senegalese communities. The activity was such a success that we plan to do it again next year with even more guests.

RIDM

The organizers of the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (RIDM) contacted us with a proposal to create a jury of inmates from Joliette Institution to vote on documentaries concerning prisons. The administration accepted this project and a jury of five women was created. They watched several films, two of which will be presented at the end of the festival and receive the Prix des détenus.

An Incident in Western Canada

A lifer in a minimum security prison in Western Canada took a staff member hostage. The CSC has reacted by asking all of the prisons both for men and women to re-evaluate the security level of all of the lifers who are currently rated at minimum. Ginette Turcotte has informed me that the institution will not increase the security of any lifer at Joliette.

The administration has responded negatively to the Inmate Committee who asked for a change in their decision to allow those women without visitors to participate in the Family Day.

The women are no longer permitted to give clothes or objects as gifts or donations to fellow inmates upon their release.

Discussion with the Chaplain of Joliette

The chaplain mentioned to me that security is felt more and more on a daily basis at the institution, is more and more intrusive and creates useless tension. She says that everyone is suffering – inmates, volunteers and non-institutional personnel. We have seen the same thing since the government instituted the model suggested in the Samson report in 2008 which promotes, among other things, more secure institutions. This translates daily into many different, irritating procedures at the reception desk, especially related to searches. The zeal displayed by certain members of the personnel is questionable and causes one to believe that everyone who doesn’t belong to the CSC is unwelcome.

Pinel

At the moment, six women are living in Unit F1 at Pinel. Four are from the Quebec Region and two are from Ontario. The women from Ontario are Sherrie Lalonde and Marian Simpson. According to Karine Gore, the coordinator of the unit, women outside of Quebec have been less present in the unit since last spring. At the moment, three women from Edmonton are waiting for admission. The women are generally admitted for an evaluation of their mental health problems and during the evaluation period, choose to stay for long term treatment. Some of them stay in order to be stabilized before returning to their home region once their symptoms are under control, especially women who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia. The women are generally divided into two groups: those who have psychosis and schizophrenia and those who have severe personality disorders.

A CSC Liaison Officer has been mandated to tour the institutions throughout the country to make this service known and to answer the questions of the personnel.

In addition, the Inmate representative is named Melissa White and she comes from Joliette Institution.