Overcrowding an ongoing problem, GN says

A Pangnirtung man was held five days in the RCMP lockup in Iqaluit in conditions that do not meet even minimal international standards, a lawyer with the Maliiganik Tukisiiniakvik Legal Aid Society charged last week.

And not just the judge, but also the public prosecutor and the Government of Nunavut's legal counsel all agreed with him.

Justice Beverly Browne stayed Maliiganik lawyer Scott Wheildon's application for a writ of habeus corpus on behalf of his client Darryl Qaqasiq after GN lawyer Lorraine Land assured her the prisoner was being transferred to the Baffin Correctional Centre that day – Wednesday, June 3.

But Justice Browne did require the GN to return to court on June 5 to show it was taking steps to assure that remand prisoners will be treated properly, even when they have to be held in RCMP cells.

Wheildon said that his client was held in an overcrowded cell for several days where he sometimes had to sleep on the floor, did not have access to a shower or change of clothing, was given non-nutritious food (TV dinners), and was forced to go without breakfast or exercise, and without being allowed to call his lawyer.

It's important to remember that Qaqasiq and other remand prisoners are "people who are presumed innocent," he told Nunatsiaq News. "That presumption should be reflected in the way they are treated."

"I'm not defending the situation," GN lawyer Lorraine Land told the court.

She admitted RCMP holding cells are not the appropriate place to detain remand prisoners for more than a couple of days, but said that due to overcrowding at the Baffin Correctional Centre, 10 of their prisoners had to be held at the RCMP facility over the weekend.

She said there were 95 prisoners at BCC when Qaqasiq arrived from Pangnirtung, even though the facility can only properly accommodate 66.

Correctional services have had an arrangement since 1995 to use RCMP facilities in "emergency" situations, she said, adding that procedures are supposed to be in place to make sure remand prisoners held by the RCMP are taken to BCC for showers and exercise, and to make sure they can access to legal counsel.

"It is not the intention of the GN to offload responsibility for these prisoners to the RCMP," she said.

The procedures were apparently not observed in this case.

Outside the court, RCMP Sgt. Peter Pilgrim, currently acting as head of the detachment, said he took steps to deal with the situation when he came into work on Monday and discovered it.

The police holding facilities can accommodate about 20 people in total, including the drunk tank, he said.

They are old, with broken showers, do not have facilities to provide food, and are not intended to hold people longer than overnight.

A new RCMP building is currently under construction on federal road, which will have larger and better-equipped holding cells.

Overcrowding at BCC is an ongoing issue for the GN, Land added.

The government will start construction this year on a second correctional facility for the territory in Rankin Inlet, which will be able to house 32 prisoners.

And a budget request is currently before the financial management board for funding to more than double the size of the BCC, to accommodate at least 150 prisoners.

These measures have been in process for several years, she said.

Additionally, the GN has memoranda of understanding with Ontario and the Northwest Territories to accommodate overflow prisoners, and with Nova Scotia to accept female overflow prisoners.

But prison overcrowding is an issue everywhere in Canada, Land added, so that sometimes those other jurisdictions don't have the capacity to accept Nunavut's overflow either.

Darryl Qaqasiq was detained in Pangnirtung on a number of charges, including assault, break and enter, and weapons possession. He has a history of violence, including a 2002 conviction for assault with a weapon.

The police also have a history of getting into trouble with him.

In 2006, an RCMP Public Complaints Commission report ruled that V division officers had arrested Qaqasiq unlawfully in Pangnirtung Feb. 13, 2003 when they entered his home without a warrant, and used "shocking methods" to arrest him, including a dangerous form of choke hold police supposedly stopped using 25 years earlier, and which twice rendered him unconscious.

Qaqasiq originally faced eight criminal charges stemming from the 2003 incident, but Justice Earl Johnson acquitted or stayed all those charges, saying police had violated Qaqasiq's rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Back in court on June 5, Land told Justice Browne that:

• the 10 remand prisoners who had been held in the RCMP cells the previous weekend had all been moved out;
• arrangements were being made with the RCMP to ensure that all such overflow prisoners are properly tracked and are ensured access to legal help, including a commitment from legal aid to promptly follow up on all calls from prisoners;
• the GN will hold multi-party discussions with Maliiganik and the RCMP before the end of June to ensure any ongoing problems are ironed out.­