Once again and not to our surprise this conservative government has demonstrated just how cold and callous they can be. Without word or whisper, let alone a fair consultation with those who would be most impacted, it was announced to the media that several federal prisons would close. This includes the Kingston Penitentiary in Kingston, Ontario.
Below is a letter which eloquently describes the effect this announcement and the form it took had on one woman who's son is imprisoned at KP.
On Wednesday of last
week, after having been away, I had a conversation with my son’s psychiatrist
at the Regional Training Centre (RTC), attached to Kingston Penitentiary. I was
inquiring about my son’s health.
For 4 years while on
remand in the Ottawa Detention Centre, my son had been on anti-depressants and
anti-psychotic drugs but due to lack of proper care became delusional and
paranoid and was deemed too ill to stand trial. He was moved back to the Royal
Ottawa after a juried pre-trial hearing. Another year passed and in November
2005 the sentencing judge ordered for him to be placed in a treatment facility.
“I saw him last
week. He is doing about the same. He as been grooming and showering and has
been out to yard. I have increased his dose by 25 mg. There was a concern as
his TV and music was not working, but that is resolved now as the fault was due
to construction and power outage. He is put off by undue attention, so
we’re keeping an eye on things. There is not much more to say at this
time”
The doctor’s words
were a minor relief. I dread phone calls from the RTC and making calls to
inquire about his health is a stressful endeavour. I was anxious to visit
soon, as I had not seen him in over 2 months. I thanked the doctor as she said
I could call her for updates.
That was on Wednesday
April 18. On April 19, I was getting lunch when CBC radio announced the
closure of Kingston Penitentiary, and the Regional Treatment Centre, and
another institution, the name of which did not register, because of the shock
of hearing the first two.
The few seconds of
disbelief soon gave way to alarm and shock.
Lunch forgotten, I
started to circle the kitchen, from the counter, to the phone, to the computer
and back to the phone. I dialled my friend’s number, asking for
help in deciding where to turn, where to get information. After leaving
her a message, I quickly followed by dialling my M.P.’s office. The
deputy answered the phone, and was caught by surprise at my question. He must
have googled the press conference as we talked and had seen it in
progress. He assured me he would call back with details.
I phoned the Chaplain
that I keep in contact with regarding my son. I left him a message on his cell
phone. I dialled the number for the RTC psychiatrist, who only works
there on Tuesdays and
Thursdays, and with whom
I had spoken a day earlier. The phone rang and rang, and the voice mail did not
come on for me to leave a message. I got the same results to a call to the
parole officer. I then sent off an email expressing concern to a contact at the
Correctional Investigator’s office.
The anxiety of waiting
for information was mixed with concern for how my son will react to the news.
How will he hear about it and what affect it will have on him. I have
experience that he has a low threshold of tolerating distressing news. My
concern was also mixed with disbelief as I could not comprehend how, when there
are reports of overcrowding and lack of spaces in care facilities, the inmates
be accommodated and where would they be shipped off to.
Later that evening, I
sent off a follow-up e-mail to Senator Bob Runcimen, expressing my concerns at
the news. I had read that the Senator advocates that the mentally ill
should not be incarcerated, but should be in secure hospital facilities. I
have been e-mailing him for help for my son’s chances for rehabilitation
at a care facility in Ottawa,
before his eligibility for parole.
There was nothing to do
but sit and wait. The questions and concerns were mounting in my mind. I
needed to know where my son would be sent? Could he be merged with the general
prison population? He would not be able to survive if that happened. Would he
be sent away somewhere else across the country? Will I be able to visit him?
Will his treatment continue or will he once again fall through the cracks as he
had been since he was young, ill, and undiagnosed? I emailed the
list on our Community Adult Justice Network (CAJN) list and alerted them to
the news. “Does this even make sense??” I asked.
Some responses came back
expressing concern and shock but at this point everyone had the same
information. It seems all this is still at the planning stages. No one has
answers to what they are going to do with the offenders and the staff. Someone
heard that there are a number of units being built in various institutions
around the region that will house the KP and RTC populations. This
country is going to ruins!!
Another email report. In
fact CSC is closing 3 pens. I can't believe this. CBC already has a
full story on their web site.
Another email said that
there had been a news leak forcing the govt. to make the announcement before
they could inform the staff.
The Correctional
Investigator’s office responded with the assurance that the changes were
not slated to take place overnight. They would not come into effect before 2013
and they would be keeping an eye on developments. The MP’s
assistant called back with the same information, now also public knowledge.
Of course, everyone was
being very professional and doing their job to provide the information, but the
truth was that no one had any prior information that they could share with the
public. So the response that I should not worry for another year or so was not
reassuring. My son will be eligible for day parole next year, and I need to
know where he will be sent to rehabilitate towards a transition to parole.
The Chaplain called
back. He had been on his way to the Pittsburgh
institution. When he got there he observed staff streaming towards one
direction. They were headed to hear an announcement. By this time, he had
heard my phone message. He, too, promised to find out more and call me
back. It seems that all staff at all facilities were learning of the
closures even as the press releases and media statements were being
conducted.
My younger daughter
called, distraught over the news and confused as to what it meant for her
brother. She was afraid of the possibility of not being able to see or
talk to her brother if he was transferred to another province. I tried to
reassure her and promised to follow up with information.
Over the day, more TV,
radio and Internet sites were providing updates. The implications of
resulting changes started to sink in.
Where could the 140 or
so inmates housed at the RTC possibly be moved? Whenever I have explored the
possibility of my son moving to a care facility nearer for family contact, I
have been told that is an impossible request to fulfill. There are no beds
available, or the transfer from federal to provincial jurisdiction cannot be
done. So, now, how will 140 mentally ill inmates be moved around and
distributed among the few heavily over subscribed institutions?
The suddenness of the
announcement has surprised so many people from so many sectors in these
institutions. No thought seems to have been spared by the Minister of Safety,
for the indelible negative effects of his decisions on the lives of thousands
of men, women and children who are the professional staff and families of
people in these institutions.
A better approach would
have been to inform the public including staff at these institutions, about
this significant undertaking. I am particularly concerned about the negative
climate that may have resulted among the professionals and workers whose jobs
and lives will be affected by the changes. Most of all, I am afraid that the
vulnerable inmates at RTC including my son are in distress over the news. On
Saturday, April 21 my son called at 6.p.m. I was happy to hear his voice and
said hello. In response, this is what he said : “I am calling to say
goodbye mom, I don’t know if I will ever come out of this place
alive...”
I am not sure what the
source of his agony was, but I later confirmed from the psychiatrist and a
supervisor, that my son’s health had deteriorated since I last talked to
the psychiatrist only 3 days earlier.
Over the last 11 years,
there have been recurring episodes of crisis. Thankfully, they get resolved
with the help of psychiatrists and nursing staff at RTC. With the imminent cuts
in staff, I may not have this personal contact with the current part-time
psychiatrist at RTC, This is very worrying. My daughter and I fervently hope
that for people like my son, a humane and compassionate resolution will be
found and that families will not be further traumatized with such decisions
that are beyond their control.
