Elizabeth Thomas

The appellants, minimum-security prisoners serving life sentences, appealed the dismissal of their application for habeas corpus.

They challenged their impending transfer from a small minimum-security facility to a larger multi-level institution, arguing the transfer would deprive them of their residual liberty interest due to increased perimeter security and movement restrictions.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the differences between the facilities were minimal and did not constitute a substantial change in the conditions of incarceration or a deprivation of any residual liberty interest.

The appellants, serving life sentences for murder, applied for habeas corpus to challenge a new policy by the Commissioner of Corrections that automatically classified them as maximum security.

The motion judge declined to exercise jurisdiction, holding that the Federal Court was the appropriate forum.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, affirming that while provincial superior courts have jurisdiction to hear habeas corpus applications regarding prison conditions, they should generally decline to exercise it when the application essentially challenges a federal statutory power that is subject to judicial review in the Federal Court, absent exceptional circumstances.