The John Howard Society of Saskatchewan will appear in front of the Supreme Court of Canada on 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.
The prisoners’ rights advocate said in a news release it believes inmates should only be disciplined if staff can prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that rules or regulations were broken — mirroring the current practice in federal prisons. It’s arguing using the lower standard of proof violates inmates’ Charter rights to life, liberty and security.
According to the John Howard Society, when a …