Seeking Humanity in Prisons and the Courts – BCCLA

March 10, 2025

Lately we’ve been working on quite a few prison issues here at BCCLA. In December 2023, we appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs to comment on Bill S-230 and the continuing use of solitary confinement in Canadian prisons. In September, we participated in the public consultation regarding the review of Correctional Service Canada’s Health Services Standard. We also have an ongoing challenge to the use of lockdowns in the federal prison system. And most recently, we intervened in John Howard Society of Saskatchewan v Saskatchewan, a case about the need for procedural protections in prison disciplinary hearings. Needless to say, prison law and advocacy have been front of mind.

In that context, I recently attended a conference put on by the Canadian Prison Lawyers Association here in Vancouver. Prior to joining BCCLA, I worked in a prison law clinic for over seven years, providing legal services directly to incarcerated individuals throughout British Columbia. So, the CPLA conference was a welcome chance to reconnect further with issues I care deeply about, and also to see some familiar faces.

Read More: https://bccla.org/2025/03/seeking-humanity-in-prisons-and-the-courts/