The inmates at the Central Nova Correctional Facility in the Burnside area of Dartmouth have been taking part in what they call a “non-violent, peaceful protest” since Aug. 21 to coincide with the large-scale prison strike at institutions in the United States. Those protests are calling attention to issues such as poor jail conditions, prison fatalities and sentencing practices.
Although some American jails have seen inmates refuse food or take other action, Halifax prisoner advocate El Jones helped the Burnside inmates channel their concerns into an open letter with a list of demands posted online by the Halifax Examiner and The Nova Scotia Advocate last week.
The demands range from adequate health care, contact visits, rehabilitation programs and exercise equipment to the ability to change visitor lists, better air circulation, library access and healthier food options.
“You get a lot of people saying, ‘Don’t commit a crime if you don’t want to do the time,’ or, ‘Jail isn’t supposed to be fun.’ Now, we’re not talking about fun. … It’s really basic stuff they’re asking for,” she said.
Report in May from the province’s auditor general also found shortcomings in key areas of the Justice Department, and said improvements are needed on the management of correctional facilities “to better promote safety and security” since policies were not consistently followed, there was no risk assessment framework, and staff training was not properly completed.
Burnside, a medium-security jail, is Nova Scotia’s largest correctional facility with a bed capacity of 322 male and 48 female inmates and about 300 employees, according to the provincial website.
The inmate population is made up of people serving provincial sentences, awaiting trial and serving parole suspensions, people found guilty of immigration violations, and newly sentenced federal offenders.
Though conditions at Burnside have long been the focus of prisoner advocates and unions like the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union (NSGEU), which has members among the correctional staff, Jones said the recent changeover to a direct-supervision model combined with a staffing crisis has brought things to a level of “chaos.”
Officers now spend their shifts among inmates in common areas, rather than doing rounds and watching them on video monitors, after Burnside’s $6.8-million renovation. Work was completed in the prison’s north wing in June and is ongoing in the west wing into the fall.
Halifax advocate El Jones has been working with the Burnside inmates to channel their demands to the public and raise awareness of the current situation inside. (Zane Woodford StarMetro Halifax)
Although Jones said the direct-supervision model is a good one if done properly, it is vital to have enough staff, programming and recreation opportunities to have the system work — and instead work refusals have led to lockdowns just last week.
Jason MacLean, NSGEU president and a former correctional officer himself, was not available for an interview Monday, but told the Examiner that when officers showed up to supervise the new day rooms where inmates are all together, it was so loud they could “hardly hear” their radios — which is not good “in case something happens and people need to respond.” MacLean said in light of the work refusals, the facility didn’t have enough people to run the area, so inmates were locked up.
MacLean supported most of the inmates’ demands, especially the implementation of more rehabilitation to ensure that direct supervision works and better air, but suggested contact visits could be used more as an incentive.
“It’s important people know that it’s not optimal in there for anybody, and inmates and staff are — it seems to me — working together to get through this crisis,” MacLean said.
The inmates are looking for better rehabilitation programs around mental health and addictions, employable skills, financial management and healthy family relationships that would help people reintegrate better into society.
“They’re asking to be able to rehabilitate themselves, which I think is a really interesting one, because they’re saying, ‘We’re here, help us fix ourselves,’” Jones said.
Jones said she knows many people have no idea about what daily life is like inside a Nova Scotia jail, which is why it is important to have inmates speak up as well as to hold public information sessions with those who can speak to their experiences in the system, like one hosted at a Halifax café on Monday evening.
Jones said at the most practical level, it’s in everyone’s interest to have a clean jail with proper health care and programming, because the correctional officers who work there will be safer, and the inmates themselves will have a proper chance at addressing their own trauma and problems.
“Do you want to live in a community with someone who’s just got out of three months in segregation, and hasn’t received any mental health care, and then been released into the community? Do you want that person living next to you?” Jones asked.
“When we don’t provide people with mental health services, that does not keep our communities safe.”
In an email Monday, Justice Department spokesperson Sarah Gillis said Correctional Services provides healthy food to inmates, the current renovations include a new air ventilation system and “a wide range of programs” are available to inmates through community-based partnerships and government departments that help with substance abuse, anger management, mental health supports and intimate partner violence education.
Gillis wrote that they “can confirm there have been concerns raised by the employees. We anticipated this as we transition to direct supervision. Direct supervision has been effectively used since the opening of our new facility in Pictou in 2015.”
She added that this model is considered the best practice in corrections across North America. Staff are in units with the inmates, which helps develop better relationships and allows for early intervention, as the staff are there to assess and respond to incidents “before they escalate.”
“Change is difficult. Training, including scenario-based training, will be ongoing to ensure staff become more comfortable with direct supervision. We are continuing to work with our staff and the Union to address concerns as we work through this change,” Gillis wrote.
In fact, Gillis said the “Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility is operating as usual. Demonstrations or protests of any kind are not taking place.”
For Jones, that statement is “interesting” because she believes had there been any disruptive action, “(The province) would acknowledge the protest, but they would call it violent — but because they’re not doing violent things, somehow there’s no protest.”
NDP MLA Claudia Chender, the party’s justice critic, urged provincial Justice Minister Mark Furey to “take meaningful action to address the concerns that have been raised at Burnside” in a release Monday.
“It’s clear that there are problems in Nova Scotia’s correctional facilities. Inmates have highlighted many serious issues,” Chender said.
As of now, the inmates have planned the protest to go until Sept. 9 alongside the American one, Jones said. She’s unsure what will exactly happen after that if that demands aren’t met, but said she’s looking forward to the legislature opening on Sept. 6 where there will be the opportunity to put questions to Furey.