Application by accused young person for a stay of proceedings, on the basis that being subjected to solitary confinement while in custody at the young offenders centre violated his Charter rights.
Held: Section 9 violation; stay of proceedings granted.
Accused was arbitrarily detained: segregation is inconsistent with the YCJA, and based on institutional policy only, without a statutory or other legal basis. “The actions of corrections officials in placing CCN in solitary confinement for approximately two years, without lawful authority, is offensive to societal notions of decency and fair play. The unlawful imprisonment of CCN in a ‘prison within a prison’ contravened Canada’s international obligations under the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child as well as the purposes and principles of the YCJA. Corrections officials chose to place CCN in solitary confinement rather than provide appropriate programs to assist in his rehabilitation and reintegration…. This is not a momentary detention or an isolated issue. It is systemic.” Stay granted.
K. McGowan – Defence Counsel