1,671 Newly Reported COVID-19 Cases Linked to Canadian Jails, Prisons and Penitentiaries in December 2020
Prisoners = 1,438 (614 federal | 824 provincial)
Staff = 231 (45 federal | 186 provincial)
Contractors = 2 (provincial)
Total = 1,671
Second Wave (trajectory over the last three months):
- December 2020 total = 1,671 (1,438 prisoners | 231 staff | 2 contractors)
Comparison to First Wave (over a four-month period):
Comparison to Lull in Cases in Between
First and Second Waves (over a two-and-a-half-month period):
Significance of Preliminary Findings
In contrast to the first wave of the pandemic, spanning approximately a four-month period from mid-March to mid-July 2020 where there were 829 cases of COVID-19 (600 prisoners | 229 staff members) linked to Canadian carceral institutions (
CBC News - 17 July 2020), there were only 39 such cases (17 prisoners | 22 staff members) across the country over the next two-and-a-half months from
mid-July to the end of September 2020.
As the second wave of the pandemic began in Canada, there was a total of 337 cases of COVID-19 (237 prisoners | 100 staff members) linked to Canadian carceral institutions in
October 2020. In
November 2020, there was a total of 649 cases of COVID-19 (542 prisoners | 107 staff members) linked to these sites of confinement. Thus, in a span of just two months in October and November 2020 there had been more COVID-19 cases (n=986) linked to human caging sites in this country than in the previous six-and-a-half months from mid-March to 30 September 2020 where 868 such cases had been publicly reported.
In just December 2020 alone (see below), there were at least 1,671 cases of COVID-19 (1,438 prisoners | 231 staff | 2 contractors) linked to Canadian carceral institutions in comparison to 1,854 identified cases from the start of the pandemic in mid-March to 30 November 2020 over a period of eight-and-a-half months. It should be noted that the spread of COVID-19 behind bars has been uneven with numerous and significant outbreaks in federal penitentiaries operated by Correctional Service Canada, as well as jails and prisons managed by the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. There have also been smaller outbreaks linked to a provincial prison in Nova Scotia and a few provincial sites of human caging in British Columbia. As of the end of December 2020, there have been no COVID-19 cases linked to the provincial-territorial prison systems of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and the Yukon during the pandemic.
Implications for Public Policy:
These publicly available figures compiled above and below indicate that COVID-19 transmissions behind bars in Canada has been more widespread during the second wave of the pandemic (also see "
Largest COVID-19 Outbreaks Linked to Canadian Carceral Institutions in 2020"), necessitating additional efforts to depopulate sites of confinement to the extent possible in order to limit potential exposure to the coronavirus. There is also a need to provide additional resources for prisoners and prison staff members to prevent its spread and limit its impact on their health and well-being.
Questions for Future Research:
- How have carceral depopulation efforts to reduce the potential number of prisoners exposed to COVID-19 in the event of outbreaks changed, if at all, over the course of the pandemic after some concerted action, particularly at the
provincial-territorial level, during the first wave of the pandemic?
- What preventative supplies and protocols said to be in place on paper are actually in force on the ground inside Canadian carceral institutions? Are there sufficient levels of PPE, cleaning and hygiene products, nutritious food, medicines, and other supplies required to prevent and limit the spread of COVID-19 in these congregate settings when outbreaks occur or when positive cases are detected as prisoners or staff enter institutions? Are protocols like mandatory mask wearing amongst staff, where applicable, actually being followed in practice?
- What are the impacts of repressive pandemic prevention measures such as imposing lockdowns and segregation-like conditions in the name of medical isolation and quarantining, along with the cessation of in-person visits, programming, access to yard time, and the like having on the physical and psychological health of imprisoned people? What are the short-term implications of such draconian measures with respect to the well-being and safety of prisoners and their institutional communities? What are their long-term implications with respect to the well-being and safety of prisoners and the communities beyond bars to which most will eventually be released to down the road?
LIST OF INSTITUTIONS IMPACTED AND SOURCES
Federal / Correctional Service Canada (CSC)- Prisoners = 614- Staff = 45
- Total newly reported cases in December 2020 = 659
Drummond Institution
Prisoners = 19 (-18 reported in November)
Staff = 0
Total = 1
Source: Correctional Service Canada (30 December 2020)
Beaver Creek Institution
Prisoners = 1
Staff = 0
Total = 1
Source: Correctional Service Canada (30 December 2020)
Collins Bay Institution
Prisoners = 6
Staff = 0
Total = 6
Source: Correctional Service Canada (30 December 2020)
Joyceville Institution
Prisoners = 135
Staff = 4
Total = 139
Sources: Kingston Whig-Standard (18 December 2020) | Correctional Service Canada (30 December 2020)
Stony Mountain Institution
Prisoners = 343 (-92 reported in November)
Staff = 33 (-8 reported in November)
Total = 276
Sources: CBC News (28 December 2020) | Correctional Service Canada (30 December 2020)
Saskatchewan Penitentiary
Prisoners = 207
Staff = 14
Total = 221
Sources: CTV News (24 December 2020) | Correctional Service Canada (30 December 2020)
Willow Cree Healing Lodge
Prisoners = 1
Staff = 2
Total = 3
Source: Global News (31 December 2020)
Drumheller Institution
Prisoners =9
Staff = 0
Total = 9
Source: Correctional Service Canada (30 December 2020)
Fraser Valley Institution for Women
Prisoners = 3
Staff = 0
Total = 3
Source: Correctional Service Canada (29 December 2020)
Provincial - Quebec- Prisoners = 15- Staff = 33
- Total newly reported cases in December 2020 = 48
Établissement Leclerc de Laval
Prisoners = 1
Staff = 3
Total = 4
Établissement de détention de Montréal - Bordeaux
Prisoners = 0
Staff = 5
Total = 5
Établissement de détention Percé
Prisoners = 14
Staff = 14
Total = 28
Établissement de détention Rivière-des-Prairies
Prisoners = 0
Staff = 4
Total = 4
Établissement de détention Roberval
Prisoners = 0
Staff = 2
Total = 2
Établissement de détention Saint-Jérôme
Prisoners = 0
Staff = 3
Total = 3
Établissement de détention Sorel-Tracy
Prisoners = 0
Staff = 2
Total = 2
Provincial - Ontario
- Prisoners = 95- Staff = 3
- Total newly reported cases in December 2020 = 98
Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre
Prisoners = 1
Staff = 0
Total = 1
Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre
Prisoners = 2 (-1 reported in November)
Staff = 0
Total = 1
Niagara Detention Centre
Prisoners = 2
Staff = 0
Total = 2
Maplehurst Correctional Complex
Prisoners = 2
Staff = 0
Total = 2
Toronto East Detention Centre
Prisoners = 6
Staff = 0
Total = 6
Prisoners = 61
Staff = 0
Total = 61
Central North Correctional Centre
Prisoners = 19
Staff = 3
Total = 22
Central East Correctional Centre
Prisoners = 1
Staff = 0
Total = 1
Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre
Prisoners = 1
Staff = 0
Total = 1
Sarnia Jail
Prisoners = 1
Staff = 0
Total = 1
Provincial - Manitoba- Prisoners = 132
- Staff = 46
- Total newly reported cases in December 2020 = 178
Agassiz Youth Centre
Prisoners = 13 (-12 reported in October and November)
Staff = 5 (-5 reported in October and November)
Total = 1
Source: Data MB (24 December 2020)
Brandon Correctional Centre
Prisoners = 89
Staff = 18
Total = 107
Source: CTV News (22 December 2020)
Headingly Correctional Centre
Prisoners = 206 (-201 reported in October and November)
Staff = 44 (-42 reported in October and November)
Total = 7
Source: CTV News (22 December 2020)
Manitoba Youth Centre
Prisoners = 0
Staff = 5 (-3 reported in October and November)
Total = 2
Source: Data MB (24 December 2020)
Milner Ridge Correctional Centre
Prisoners = 30
Staff = 22 (-5 reported in October and November)
Total = 47
Source: Data MB (24 December 2020)
Women’s Correctional Centre
Prisoners = 26 (-26 reported in October and November)
Staff = 4 (-3 reported in October)
Total = 1
Source: Data MB (24 December 2020)
Winnipeg Remand Centre
Prisoners = 10 (-3 reported in November)
Staff = 12 (-6 reported in October and November)
Total = 13
Source: Data MB (24 December 2020)
Provincial - Saskatchewan
- Prisoners = 155
- Staff = 27
- Total newly reported cases in December 2020 = 182
Regina Correctional Centre
Prisoners = 60
Staff = 3
Total = 63
Source: CBC News (31 December 2020)
Paul Dojack Youth Centre
Prisoners = 0
Staff = 1
Total = 1
Source: Newstalk 610 CKTB (16 December 2020)
Saskatoon Correctional Centre
Prisoners = 67
Staff = 18
Total = 85
Source: Newstalk 610 CKTB (16 December 2020)
Kilburn Hall Youth Centre
Prisoners = 2
Staff = 1
Total = 3
Source: Newstalk 610 CKTB (16 December 2020)
Pine Grove Correctional Centre
Prisoners = 6
Staff = 0
Total = 6
Source: Newstalk 610 CKTB (16 December 2020)
Prince Albert Correctional Centre
Prisoners = 20
Staff = 4
Total = 24
Source: CBC News (22 December 2020)
Provincial - Alberta- Prisoners = 427- Staff = 77
- Contractors = 2
- Total newly reported cases in December 2020 = 506
Calgary Remand Centre
Prisoners = 335
Staff = 56
Contractor = 1
Total = 392
Source: CBC News (22 December 2020)
Edmonton Remand Centre
Prisoners = 51
Staff = 8
Contractor = 1
Total = 60
Source: Edmonton Journal (20 December 2020)
Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre
Prisoners = 37
Staff = 9
Total = 46
Source: CBC News (11 December 2020)
Lethbridge Correctional Centre
Prisoners = 1
Staff = 0
Total = 1
Source: CBC News (11 December 2020)
Peace River Correctional Centre
Prisoners = 1
Staff = 1
Total = 2
Source: CBC News (11 December 2020)
Red Deer Remand Centre
Prisoners = 2
Staff = 3
Total = 5
Source: Red Deer Advocate (15 December 2020)
Canadian Jurisdictions without Newly Reported COVID-19 Cases Linked to their Provincial-Territorial Jails and Prisons in December 2020Newfoundland and LabradorPrince Edward IslandNova Scotia
New Brunswick
British Columbia
NunavutNorthwest TerritoriesYukon
RESEARCH PROJECT AND FUNDING
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