Saskatchewan non-profit challenges provincial jail policy at Supreme Court [Video]

The John Howard Society of Saskatchewan (JHSS) appeared in the Supreme Court of Canada Tuesday challenging a regulation that it says lets provincial correctional workers discipline inmates without sufficient proof.

The regulations stipulate that when an inmate in provincial jail is accused of a major or minor offence, anything from disruptive behaviour to violent assault, it only needs to be proven more likely than not before actions are taken — a lower standard than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” test used in criminal trials.

“There is a problem with the way discipline is administered in Saskatchewan correctional facilities,” JHSS Lawyer Pierre Hawkins told the court tribunal. “Inmates are found guilty and subjected to harsh sanctions by panels of prison guards and managers on a standard too low to require anything approaching certainty as to their guilt.”

The prisoners’ rights advocate said in a news release it believes inmates should only …