Corrections minister ruling out mass releases from remand after outbreaks

The Regina Correctional Centre has been added to the list of COVID-19 outbreaks in the province.

According to Corrections and Public Safety Minister Christine Tell, as of Wednesday, there were four offenders in the jail and two staff members who’d tested positive for the virus.

Tell said they’re all being isolated — the staff in their homes — and all supports are being offered that can be.

According to the Ministry of Justice, 101 offenders and 26 staff members across the province’s six correctional centres had COVID as of Wednesday.

An outbreak previously declared at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre is slowing down.

As of Wednesday, there were 99 people — 80 offenders and 19 staff members — with the virus in that facility. That total is down from 130 at the end of November.

In the Prince Albert Correctional Centre, one staff member and 13 offenders had COVID as of Wednesday.

With cases jumping in the facilities, calls have been coming for the province to consider releasing some people who are behind bars on remand. Those individuals have been charged but not convicted of any crimes but it has been determined they’ll have to wait while in custody.

Tell said she doesn’t see any wide release of inmates happening.

“I am the minister responsible for public safety in the province of Saskatchewan for everyone. That includes offenders (and) that includes the people at large. And so, as such, we’re not going to increase the number of offenders that are being released, except through the recognized program of reintegration leave,” said Tell.

Reintegration leave is a program that allows offenders to be released if they have a valid medical reason.

When pressed, Tell said she can’t direct prosecutions or the justice system to do anything and she’s not going to override decisions made.

“Our independent justice system has made a determination that the offender needs to be in custody. That’s not up to me to decide whether it’s right or wrong, but that’s where they’re going to be,” said Tell.

The NDP’s Nicole Sarauer said overcrowding in prisons is a “ticking time bomb” and it keeps going off with outbreaks in the facilities.

She said in the spring the government was working on lowering the numbers of people in remand in facilities, but as far as she can tell, that work has stopped.

When asked what should be done, Sarauer said it’s not a one-size-fits-all problem.

“There are many different options that can be used, be it looking at reintegration leaves for sentenced offenders, looking at alternatives to remand like funding electronic monitoring better than we’re doing right now in the province, and working collaboratively with prosecutions and Legal Aid, for example, to figure out what can be done to ensure that those who are entering our jails should be entering our jails,” said Sarauer.

Sarauer has previously called for Tell to be removed from her ministerial post over Tell’s handling of the pandemic in jails and Sarauer stands by that.

“Her lack of action has put the lives of many — and not just inmates but staff as well — at risk at this point,” Sarauer said.

“She has shown that she doesn’t seem to care about where this outbreak is coming from and doesn’t seem to care to find out (and) is doing very little to address the issue. And we should have a minister who actually cares about the safety of the staff and the inmates and about her file.”