FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Calls renewed for an end to
solitary confinement and other prison policies
and practices that contribute
to deaths in custody
August 9, 2015 (Algonquin
Territory / Ottawa) – Prisoners’ Justice Day (PJD) emerged as a prisoner-initiated day of non-violent strike
action to commemorate the death of Eddie Nalon in the segregation unit of
Millhaven maximum-security penitentiary on August 10th 1974. It was first observed in 1975, and in 1976
the prisoners of Millhaven issued a communication calling for one-day hunger
strikes in opposition to the use of solitary confinement and in support of
prisoners’ rights, in memory of Eddie Nalon and Robert Landers, who also died
alone in solitary confinement. Since then,
PJD has become an internationally-recognized day of solidarity and action, both inside and outside prison walls, to commemorate deaths in
custody and to demand justice for the human rights atrocities that states and
their officials authorize and engage in.
Tomorrow, we will observe PJD
for the 40th time because preventable deaths in custody, like that
of Ashley Smith who died in a segregation cell at Grand Valley
Institution in 2007, still occur. Despite
occasional public outcries and government promises for much needed reforms to
save lives, little has changed. While many
Canadians were in tears at the images of Ashley’s treatment in prison, at least
321 prisoners died in federal penitentiaries from 2008 to 2014, according to Correctional Service of Canada and Public Safety Canada figures compiled by the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project. Between
2008-09 and 2010-11, 80 deaths were reported in provincial jails and prisons,
where people continue to die. The recent deaths
of Edward Snowshoe and Kinew James behind bars are a solemn and tragic reminder that Canada’s prisons disproportionately target, warehouse and harm indigenous people, part of the colonial legacy
highlighted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. As they did four decades ago, prisons still
kill and maim, still traumatize captives and captors alike during their time
behind bars, and still greatly diminish the common humanity we all share.
It is not enough to shed
tears and ask for change – we must demand it. A PJD march is taking place tomorrow
at 4:00pm on Algonquin Territory / in Ottawa. It begins at the Jack Purcell
Community Centre (320 Jack Purcell Lane). Following a land acknowledgement and brief introduction
to PJD, demonstrators will proceed to the constituency office of Ontario
Minister of Corrections and Community Safety Yasir Naqvi (109 Catherine Street).
There, former prisoners from the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre (OCDC) and
groups like the End Immigration Detention Network, which have been advocating for detainees held
indefinitely in a maximum-security wing of the Lindsay jail, will talk about
conditions and make demands concerning provincial prisons operated by the
Government of Ontario. Marchers will then
walk to Correctional Service of Canada national headquarters (340 Laurier
Avenue West). Ex-prisoners and family
members with loved ones behind bars will discuss living and dying in federal
penitentiaries, and demand real change to uphold human rights and prevent
deaths in facilities run by the Government of Canada going forward. The action concludes at the Human Rights
Monument (at the corner of Elgin Street and Lisgar Street) where 40 seconds of
silence will be observed to mark the past 40 years of inaction during which hundreds
lost their lives while under the ‘care’ of Canada’s ‘correctional’ authorities.
Concerned members of the
community are encouraged to participate in this non-violent action. Journalists are also welcome to attend.
OUR DEMANDS FOR #pjd2015
End the mass incarceration of
indigenous peoples and minorities
End the use of solitary
confinement
End prison crowding
End pre-trial, immigration
and foreign worker detention
End the criminalization of
political dissidents, sex workers, and those with mental health and substance
(mis)-use issues
To
arrange for media interviews with former prisoners,
relatives of current
prisoners and their supporters contact:
Justin
Piché, Criminalization and Punishment Education Project,
613-793-1093 or justin.piche@uottawa.ca