Solitary confinement

The decision addresses a motion by David Peter McMath and Darcy Loyie to stay their motion for leave to appeal a summary judgment decision dismissing their individual claims for additional damages arising from administrative segregation, pending the outcome of other test cases.

The court applies the RJR-MacDonald test for a stay and finds that while there is a serious question to be tried, the applicants failed to establish irreparable harm or that the balance of convenience favours a stay.

The motion is dismissed.

The plaintiffs brought a motion to certify a class action against Ontario, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, and individual hospital administrators, alleging systemic negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and Charter violations related to the use of seclusion and restraints at a maximum-security psychiatric hospital.

The court dismissed the certification motion, finding that while some patients may have individual claims for culpable seclusion, there was no basis in fact for systemic wrongdoing.

The court concluded that the claims lacked commonality, as the use of restraints required highly individualized clinical assessments, and that a joinder action, rather than a class proceeding, was the preferable procedure.

Five bellwether individual issues trials were heard as summary judgment motions to determine whether class members who were placed in administrative segregation in federal penitentiaries were entitled to additional compensatory damages beyond their share of the aggregate damages award.

The court assessed the idiosyncratic harm suffered by each plaintiff, taking into account their pre-existing mental health conditions and other stressors.

The court awarded additional compensatory damages to three plaintiffs ($50,000, $25,000, and $75,000) who proved that their time in segregation caused specific, additional harm.

The claims of the other two plaintiffs were dismissed as they failed to prove causation.

The court declined to award punitive damages in any of the cases.

The plaintiff moved for approval of a $15 million settlement in a class action against Ontario concerning the practice of youth segregation in provincial youth justice facilities.

Class counsel also sought approval of a $4.05 million fee and a $15,000 honorarium for the representative plaintiff.

The court found the settlement to be fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class, noting the significant litigation risks regarding whether youth segregation amounted to unconstitutional solitary confinement.

The court approved the settlement, the counsel fees, and the honorarium.

The respondent, representing a class of seriously mentally ill inmates and inmates held in prolonged administrative segregation, brought a class action against Ontario for Charter breaches and systemic negligence.

The motion judge granted summary judgment, finding that Ontario's use of administrative segregation violated sections 7 and 12 of the Charter, and awarded $30 million in aggregate Charter damages.

Ontario appealed, arguing that the Charter breaches were not established for all seriously mentally ill inmates, that Charter damages were inappropriate due to good governance concerns, and that the negligence claim was barred by statute.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the findings that administrative segregation of seriously mentally ill inmates constitutes cruel and unusual treatment, that Ontario's clear disregard for inmates' rights justified Charter damages, and that the operational implementation of segregation policies grounded a valid systemic negligence claim.

The representative plaintiff brought a class action on behalf of inmates in Ontario correctional institutions who were placed in administrative segregation.

The plaintiff alleged that Ontario's use of administrative segregation constituted systemic negligence and violated sections 7 and 12 of the Charter.

On a motion for summary judgment, the court found that administrative segregation as practiced in Ontario was equivalent to solitary confinement and caused severe psychological harm, particularly to inmates with serious mental illness.

The court held that Ontario breached the inmates' Charter rights and was liable for systemic negligence at the operational level.

The court awarded $30 million in aggregate damages for compensation, vindication, and deterrence.

This appeal concerned two class actions (Brazeau and Reddock) brought by federal inmates challenging the legality of administrative segregation practices.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld the motion judge's finding of liability against Canada for breaches of ss. 7 and 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, concluding that the prolonged administrative segregation practices constituted cruel and unusual punishment and lacked independent review.

The court found that Canada's failure to alter its policies despite long-standing criticism met the "clear disregard for Charter rights" threshold for awarding damages.

However, the court set aside the motion judge's order in Brazeau to use aggregate damages for structural changes to penal institutions, deeming it an unjustifiable assumption of judicial control and a misinterpretation of the Class Proceedings Act.

The court also overturned the finding of systemic negligence in Reddock, concluding that Charter damages were the more appropriate remedy.

The appeals were allowed in part, with the Brazeau damages remitted for re-determination and the Reddock negligence finding reversed.

During a trial, the defendants brought a motion to exclude a new reply report by the plaintiffs' expert, Dr. John Bradford.

The plaintiffs sought to introduce the report to address six questions they claimed arose unexpectedly from the defendants' experts' testimony.

The court reviewed the principles governing late-filed expert reports, noting they are only admissible to address new, unanticipated matters raised by the defence.

The court analyzed each of the six questions and found that only one (Question 4, regarding the difference between segregation in a hospital versus a prison setting) addressed a genuinely new opinion.

The motion to exclude was partially granted, with only Question 4 of the reply report admitted.

In a certified class action regarding Ontario's use of administrative segregation, the plaintiff sought to summons an independent expert appointed by Ontario to testify on an upcoming summary judgment motion.

Ontario opposed the summons, arguing it violated procedural rules regarding the timing of examinations.

The court declined to order the examination at this juncture, finding that it was more proportionate to simply order that the expert's Final Report be delivered to class counsel for use on the summary judgment motion once it is provided to Ontario.

The plaintiff brought a summary judgment motion in a class action against the Federal Government regarding the use of prolonged administrative segregation in federal penitentiaries.

The court found that the Federal Government breached the class members' rights under sections 7 and 12 of the Charter by placing them in administrative segregation for more than 15 days, and that these breaches were not saved by section 1.

The court also found the Federal Government liable for systemic negligence.

The court awarded $20 million in aggregate Charter damages for vindication, deterrence, and compensation, to be distributed equally among the class members, while dismissing the claim for class-wide punitive damages.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association challenged the constitutionality of sections 31-37 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, which authorize administrative segregation (solitary confinement) in federal penitentiaries.

The applicant sought declarations that these provisions violate sections 7, 11(h), and 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Court of Appeal found that prolonged administrative segregation (more than 15 consecutive days) violates section 12 of the Charter as cruel and unusual treatment and cannot be justified under section 1.

The court rejected arguments regarding inmates aged 18-21 and those with mental illness due to insufficient evidence, and dismissed the section 11(h) claim.

The court declared sections 31-37 of no force and effect to the extent they authorize prolonged administrative segregation.

The representative plaintiffs brought a summary judgment motion in a class action on behalf of seriously mentally ill inmates placed in administrative segregation in federal penitentiaries.

The court found that administrative segregation is a form of solitary confinement that causes severe psychological harm to mentally ill inmates.

The court held that the Federal Government breached section 7 of the Charter due to an inadequate review process, and breached sections 7 and 12 by subjecting mentally ill inmates to prolonged administrative segregation (over 30 days involuntary or 60 days voluntary).

The court awarded $20 million in aggregate Charter damages for vindication and deterrence, to be used for structural changes or additional mental health resources.

Thomas Chan was convicted of manslaughter and aggravated assault after fatally stabbing his father and gravely injuring his father's partner during a drug-induced psychotic episode from magic mushrooms.

The court considered the principles of sentencing, including proportionality, denunciation, and deterrence, balancing the high gravity of the offences with the offender's diminished moral blameworthiness due to unforeseeable psychosis and his exemplary character.

The judge imposed a global sentence of five years imprisonment, reduced by 1.5 years for pre-trial custody (including enhanced credit for solitary confinement and restrictive bail conditions), resulting in a net sentence of 3.5 years.

The accused, an Indigenous man with mental health issues, was held in continuous administrative segregation for 1,647 days while awaiting trial for first degree murder.

He brought an application seeking a stay of proceedings, alleging violations of his rights under ss. 7, 9, 12, and 15 of the Charter.

The court found that the prolonged segregation, which lacked meaningful review and mitigating measures, constituted cruel and unusual treatment, arbitrary detention, and a deprivation of liberty and equality rights.

The court concluded that the state misconduct caused permanent cognitive impairment, including memory loss, which irreparably prejudiced the accused's right to a fair trial and undermined the integrity of the justice system.

A stay of proceedings was granted.

The plaintiff, Conrey Francis, brought a proposed class action against Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario, alleging negligence and breaches of sections 7 and 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms due to the use of Administrative Segregation (solitary confinement) in correctional facilities.

The parties sought approval of a consent order certifying the action as a class proceeding.

The court found that all criteria for certification under s. 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 were met, including an identifiable class, common issues of fact or law, preferability of a class proceeding, and an adequate representative plaintiff.

The certification motion was granted.

The applicant, a civil liberties organization, brought a public interest challenge against the administrative segregation provisions (sections 31-37) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, arguing they violated sections 7, 11(h), and 12 of the Charter.

The court found that the applicant had standing to seek a declaration of invalidity under section 52(1) but not a personal remedy under section 24(1).

The court held that the legislative scheme violated section 7 of the Charter because it failed to provide an independent review of the institutional head's decision to maintain an inmate in administrative segregation, which breached the principles of fundamental justice (procedural fairness) and was not saved by section 1.

The court dismissed the claims under section 11(h) and section 12, finding that segregation is not a punishment and that the scheme, if properly applied with consideration for inmates' mental health, does not constitute cruel and unusual treatment.

The court declared the provisions unconstitutional to the extent they authorize segregation beyond five working days without independent review, but suspended the declaration for 12 months.

This is an appeal of a motion judge's decision to strike the Crown's third party claims against 15 non-government, non-profit organizations that operated youth detention centres under contract with the Crown.

The plaintiff alleged negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of Charter rights arising from the use of solitary confinement in youth detention centres.

The plaintiff limited his claim to damages attributable to the Crown's proportionate degree of fault.

The motion judge struck the Crown's third party claims, relying on the principle from Taylor v. Canada (Health Canada) that when a plaintiff limits damages to a defendant's proportionate fault, the defendant cannot pursue contribution and indemnity claims.

The Crown appealed, arguing it was not plain and obvious that third party claims had no reasonable prospect of success, particularly regarding vicarious liability and breach of fiduciary duty claims.

In a proposed class action regarding the use of secure isolation in youth detention centres, the Crown brought a motion seeking production of the representative plaintiff's Youth Records.

The plaintiff opposed, arguing the Superior Court lacked jurisdiction to order production under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The court held that while it could not directly order production of the records, it had jurisdiction under the Class Proceedings Act to order the plaintiff to apply to the Youth Justice Court for access to the records.

The court ordered the plaintiff to make the application, failing which the proposed class action would be stayed.

The plaintiffs, former federal inmates with mental health disorders, brought a proposed class action against Canada alleging systemic abuses in federal penitentiaries, including the overuse of solitary confinement and failure to provide adequate mental healthcare.

They alleged breaches of sections 7, 9, and 12 of the Charter.

On consent, the court found that all criteria under section 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 were met and certified the action as a class proceeding.

The accused pleaded guilty to manslaughter and, during the sentencing hearing, sought to bring a Charter application for declaratory relief and damages under s. 24(1) due to his treatment in pre-trial solitary confinement.

The court declined to hear the application, ruling that a criminal sentencing hearing is not the appropriate forum for a complex civil damages claim, which should instead be pursued in the civil courts.