Report finds Inuit prisoners in Quebec face unsanitary conditions

QUEBEC – The conditions faced by Inuit inmates in northern Quebec are similar to those in Third World prisons, the province’s ombudswoman said Thursday after releasing a scathing report.

Unusable sanitary facilities, sickening odours, soiled bedding, filthy cells and overpopulation were among Raymonde Saint-Germain’s findings on a tour last year of three villages in Nunavik, north of the 55th parallel.

Some prisoners have to eat their meals on the floor because they don’t have a table or a chair. Others don’t have access to a shower.

“It’s not far off the Third World,” Saint-Germain told a news conference after the report was tabled in the national assembly.

“I’ve had the opportunity to visit some prisons in Africa and my first reaction was to say, ‘Well, it’s no different from Africa.’ This is very disturbing to realize that even in 2016 people in Nunavik do not receive the public services they deserve, that we don’t adapt our correctional services and our justice system enough in order to serve them in the right way.”

There are no penitentiaries in Nunavik and inmates are often held in police stations or in Amos, in northwestern Quebec.

Saint-Germain said Inuit prisoners are relegated to second-class status and she urged the government to act quickly to correct the inequalities.

“We know what the solutions are — they have to be put in place,” she said.

Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux didn’t indicate that any short-term plans are in the offing.

“The problem has deep roots,” he told reporters, saying he was “concerned” about the situation.

Saint-Germain and members of her office visited Puvirnituk, Akulivik and Kuujjuaq.

“Among the detainees who were interviewed, some said they hadn’t had a shower for six days and that they didn’t have any hygiene products to wash themselves,” the report said.