SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Commission of Inquiry into Certain Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston

Honourable senators, April 1 will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Honourable Justice Louise Arbour’s report following the commission of inquiry into illegal treatment and human rights violations of women at the Prison for Women in Kingston. Most of the women were Indigenous; all had experienced abuse as children and adults. In April 1994, they were unlawfully stripped, shackled and left naked in segregation cells by male guards.

As the first outsider to enter after these events, I advocated with corrections, the Correctional Investigator and the minister for an urgent, independent investigation, remedying of the ongoing human rights violations and release of the women from segregation.

When I reported what I had witnessed and heard from the women and staff, correctional officials insisted that laws and policies had not been breached and cautioned me about supporting “cons” and “con-lovers.”

In the ensuing year, my integrity and employment were repeatedly threatened, and corrections tried to secure an injunction to prevent the media from exposing the events and their cover-up.

Following an expose by the CBC’s “The Fifth Estate” and a special report of the Correctional Investigator, Solicitor General Herb Gray and Attorney General Allan Rock commissioned the Arbour inquiry.

Justice Arbour described the ignorance and absence of the rule of law in prisons, recommending judicial oversight of corrections and remedies for prisoners.

Thirty years on, corrections’ human rights and Charter breaches continue.

Justice Arbour’s approach, unclouded by electoral or political issues, illuminated our obligation to uphold dignity and human rights. During the inquiry, she insisted that the women with whom she met be unshackled, and she demonstrated the legal and moral imperative of recognizing their humanity, human rights and entitlement to the protection of the rule of law.

In 2019, the Senate passed amendments to Bill C-83 to require correctional authorities to apply to a Superior Court before isolating an individual for more than 48 hours and to implement remedies for prisoners. A 2021 Human Rights Committee report echoed these calls. In 2024, we passed Bill S-230 and sent it to the other place.

As senators, our privilege of walking in and out of prisons comes with the responsibility of exposing and remedying the violations of human rights that we witness. Given what we have seen and heard, this chamber does not have the luxury of remaining silent. To this end, today and every day, I thank Justice Arbour and each of you, honourable senators, for all you do to try and uphold human rights and the rule of law for all.

Meegwetch, thank you.