The use of segregation cells in federal penitentiaries has grown to 8,600 prisoners a year. That’s up from 8,000 in 2010. On any given day in Canada, there are 14,700 inmates in federal prisons. Of that number, some 850 are in solitary confinement.
Opponents of the measures fear it will get worse as Canada’s Conservative Party government follows through on its get-tough-on-cirme agenda.
On Thursday in an interview with the Globe and Mail newspaper, Mr. Zinger left no doubt about he feels about solitary confinement.
“There should be an absolute prohibition on the practice of placing mentally ill offenders and those at risk of suicide or serious injury,” Mr. Zinger told the Globe.
One of the organizers of the Winnipeg conference is Debra Parkes. She is an associate professor of law at the University of Manitoba.
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