Justice Min. McPhee says she will wait until after WCC inspection to make any decisions.
Justice Minister Tracey McPhee (Riverdale South) is pledging to discover exactly what happened to Michael Nehass, a Tahltan man, with mental health illness, who spent a great deal of time in segregation at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre.
McPhee says there are many questions, which need answers, and that is why she ordered an independent inspection of WCC to “determine exactly what this current situation is, what the past situation was with respect to how that matter was dealt with and determine what next steps should be for improvements of those services provided.”
NDP leader Liz Hanson (Whitehorse Centre) pressed McPhee to immediately end segregation, noting that much of the approximately 2000 days Nehass spent at the jail were in solitary. “Experts, including Canada’s corrections ombudsman, have also indicated that solitary confinement should not be used for inmates with mental illness; yet, an indigenous man with known mental illness spent much of the 2,000 days he was at the Whitehorse correctional facility in solitary confinement.” “Will the minister acknowledge that the Yukon justice system has failed this indigenous man, and will she commit to end the use of solitary confinement for mentally ill inmates?”
McPhee acknowledged there were inmates at WCC with mental illness and that she expects the facts will come out and the appropriate actions taken. “We do know that a significant number of inmates in the Whitehorse Correctional Centre suffer from mental illness — from mental health issues — and require appropriate services and appropriate treatment. I expect that the inspection that I have ordered, which will take place pursuant to the Corrections Act, will uncover the facts of the matter and allow us to make decisions about what the next steps should be moving forward.”
Justice Ron Veale issued a memorandum on the Nehass/ WCC situation, recommending that the prison no longer classify itself as a hospital, stating that in no way was the jail a hospital. Hanson urged the government to take swift action to remove the designation, but McPhee wants to wait on any decisions, until after the inspection has concluded, adding it would be inappropriate to make moves without alternatives. “We need to figure out how the proper services can be provided to inmates with mental illness, where those services can be provided, and we need to move quickly on this.”
McPhee says Justice officials are coordinating experts to conduct the inspection.
(Dan Jones Whitehorse October 3, 2017)
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