A spokesman for Victoria defence lawyers has accused the provincial government of passing the buck to police by refusing to provide equal treatment for women in custody.
“Pointing fingers or saying it’s someone else’s job is going to get someone killed,” said Paul Pearson, co-chairman of the Canadian Bar Association’s criminal justice section in Victoria. “The provincial government should be taking care of these women.”
The lack of a remand facility for women on Vancouver Island and other remote areas of the province has been condemned as shameful and discriminatory by provincial court judges, lawyers and advocacy organizations.
Women who are arrested are often held in police cells, sometimes for days at a time, without showers, in conditions that replicate solitary confinement. They’re also rushed through their court appearances and flown out of their communities to the Alouette Correctional Centre for Women in Maple Ridge.
Attorney General Suzanne Anton has repeatedly refused requests for an interview on the issue. She has also refused to reply to specific questions and only sends out prepared statements.
In June, Anton, a former Crown prosecutor, released a statement saying while she was sympathetic to the needs of female offenders, their needs must be balanced with government resources. “At this time, there are no plans for additional capital investment on Vancouver Island,” the statement said.
Anton said she recently reminded the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police of their obligations about the expectations of standards of care in police lockups. Police are responsible for maintaining lockups and are responsible for those who are in their lawful care and custody, the statement said.
“Provincial standards are clear — female inmates must be held separately from male inmates, fed, provided medical assistance and monitored — and we expect those standards to be upheld,” her statement said.
B.C. Corrections, the Police Service Division, the Court Services branch and police have agreed to work together on this issue “and will continue to look for potential mutual solutions where they may be needed,” the statement said.
Anton refused to answer whether she was looking at options — other than building a new remand facility — to give women comparable services to men. Alternatives have been suggested such as converting the empty girls wing of the youth detention centre or holding the women at the West Shore RCMP detachments, which has showers.
Pearson said he’s not surprised the government isn’t interested in answering questions on the issue “because the answers to those questions are going to be very unpopular and unacceptable from a fundamental human rights perspective.”
Essentially, he said, the government is content to allow women to be treated in a manner that is totally unacceptable and significantly different from men to save money.
“The reality is we have a very sad and tragic history of ignoring and not helping marginalized women, and these women in custody are the most vulnerable, marginalized and helpless people we have in society,” Pearson said.
“They need more assistance, not less. They need to be treated more carefully, not more brutally.”
The government should not be passing the buck back and forth between the attorney general, police and Corrections, said Pearson. It’s not the police’s job to house women prisoners who have been remanded.
“It’s not acceptable for the attorney general to say that police should be doing a better job,” Pearson said. “Ultimately, she’s where the buck stops. She’s got to make the call and do it right.”
The solution does not involve significant funding — all it would take is some political will, he said.
No matter what the policy says, basic standards are not being met, Pearson said. No medical assistance is provided to women — short of calling an ambulance for them. There is no nursing staff in police jails.
Any woman held in the Victoria police jail awaiting bail hearings or morning court is housed in a maximum security cell with no access to showers or exercise. The lights are on all night. The jail is often filled with noisy drunks and only fast food is available.
Victoria lawyer Don McKay, who has represented the women of Victoria’s integrated court for several years, said the misery will continue unless the government takes action.
“In other contexts, the government would say such treatment of women is abusive and not accept a lack of money as a reasonable excuse,” McKay said.
The attorney general has failed to consider the supervisory obligation borne by the province to ensure standards have been implemented and are being maintained, he said.
