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A Court has approved a lawsuit as a class action for current and former inmates of B.C. Correctional Centers who were involuntarily subjected to Separate Confinement and/or Segregation, for either: at least 15 consecutive days, or any length of time if B.C. Corrections knew or ought to have known the person suffered from Mental Illness.

 

1. The Class includes those persons who, between April 18, 2005 and December 22, 2020, were involuntarily subjected to either:
   
   Separate Confinement and/or Segregation for at least fifteen (15) consecutive days (“Prolonged Separate Confinement and/or Segregation”); or
   
   
2. Separate Confinement and/or Segregation when B.C. Corrections knew or ought to have known the person suffered from Mental Illness (“Separate Confinement and/or Segregation of Mental Health Disordered Inmates”);
   in a B.C. correctional centre as defined in s. 1 of the Correction Act. S.B.C. 2004, c. 46.

 

The lawsuit says that British Columbia improperly subjected inmates to separate confinement and/or segregation. The lawsuit says that such separate confinement and/or segregation constitutes breach of fiduciary duty, systemic negligence and breaches of inmates' rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. British Columbia denies these claims. The Court has not decided whether the Plaintiff or British Columbia is right. The lawyers for the Plaintiff will have to prove their claims in Court.

 

The Court has not decided whether British Columbia did anything wrong, and there still has to be a court case about whether British Columbia did anything wrong. However, your rights are affected, and you have a choice to make now.

 

If the lawsuit is not dismissed or settled, the case will go to trial and the Court will decide if British Columbia did in fact improperly subject inmates to separate confinement and/or segregation. If the Plaintiff wins this case, it will provide a claims process through which eligible class members may make a claim for compensation. There is no money available now and no guarantee there will ever be any money.  More information will be available as the case develops.