Vanier Centre for Women 655 Martin St. Milton, ON L9T 5E6 Canada Phone: +1 905-876-8300 Fax: +1 905-876-7334
Vanier Centre for Women is a medium and maximum correctional facility in Milton, Ontario. It’s for women serving sentences less than 2 years or have been arrested and are remanded in custody awaiting trial. The centre can house 333 inmates.
Violation of Human Rights
Personal testimony from inmates have indicated possible discrimination and violation of human rights. Possible issues include the lack of disclosure as to why inmates are transferred from medium to maximum security prisons. Other issues include the quality of services within the prison and the way inmates are treated. Amanda Hiscocks, a jailed G20 activist, claims that discriminatory practices are being used at Vanier and that she has been the victim. The charges filed are targeted towards the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, and the Milton prison. She says the system of classification for incoming inmates are “stacked” against people that are already marginalized. These practices often lack transparency and awareness of human rights problems. These practices are targeted towards people of colour citizenship, disabled persons, and poor people.
In January of 2019, chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) made a visit to the Vanier Centre for Women, to gain more insight into the prison. Some issues to note include difficulty in maintaining family and community contact, unequal care for women, and segregation. Many of the women at Vanier come from communities across the province of Ontario. The number of visits by caregivers and family in relation to male prisoners is little. Collect calls are required for prisoners that are often very expensive (costing hundreds or thousand of dollars per month).
Concern over segregation also exists. There are currently no process for independent oversight for prisoners held in segregation for a long duration. The Correctional Services and Reintegration Act should solve this issue. Vanier is also known as a remand facility where people awaiting trial are held for long periods for time at Vanier . It was originally designed to hold people for much shorter periods.