The death penalty for civilians was abolished by parliament on 14 July 1976, with a vote of 130 versus 124. The number of death sentences increased between 1867 (the year of the Canadian constitution) and 1962, to 1,481. The number of executions was 710, with the last one taking place on 11 December 1962.

The probability of being executed for the same crime increased to 21 % for a Caucasian and to 96 % for an Aboriginal. Francophones in Quebec were more likely to receive the death penalty in Quebec than Anglophones.

On 30 June 1987, the House of Commons in Ottawa tabled a bill to reinstate the death penalty. It was rejected with a vote of 148 versus 127.

The death penalty for military crimes was abolished on 10 December 1998.

Between 2004 and 2014, the federal administration (Correctional Services of Canada - CSC) recorded 519 prison deaths. During the same period, 380 prisoners died while under the responsibility of provincial and territorial administrations.

Among these deaths, there were 88 suicides in federal penitentiaries (CSC facilities), and 93 in provincial prisons. There were 23 homicides in CSC facilities and five in provincial prisons. The suicide and homicide rates are clearly higher in correctional settings, particularly in CSC facilities, than in the general population. It is known that there is a link between detention conditions and the rate of suicide: the worse the detention conditions are, the higher the rate of suicide.

Deaths can also result from natural causes, or from accidents, legal interventions (deaths caused by an altercation with a prison guard carrying out his/her duties) and “unexplained” causes.

During the 2015/2016 period, there were 63 deaths from natural causes in CSC penitentiaries. These are due, in part, to the aging population.

Sexual assaults are increasing due to the overpopulation of correctional facilities. It is difficult to obtain exact numbers.

In 2015-2016, corrections officers used force 1,143 times in Corrections Canada facilities (CSC). They used mainly organic inflammatory agents and pepper spray. Pepper spray was used in more than half of the 157 total cases when force was needed to prevent prisoners from self-harm.

Solitary confinement, called administrative segregation, has been an issue since the early 1970s. This is when, for the first time, a court challenge gave rise to a judgment concluding: “detention conditions in solitary confinement constitute cruel and unusual punishment and an abrogation of Sect.2 of the Canadian Bill of Rights” (McCann v. The Queen).

The Correctional Service of Canada has recognized the link between solitary confinement and suicide since 1981: “Suicide rates are more prevalent in physically isolated cells than in general population cells.”

In 2014, the Correctional Investigator pointed out that “a disproportionate number of inmates take their lives in segregation as opposed to general population cells”¹. In a 2015 report, he stated that the average time spent in isolation during the 2014-2015 period was 27 days². The percentage of males placed in solitary confinement was 26 %, while more than 46 % of females were held in solitary confinement at least once.

The Correctional Service of Canada, although aware of the harmful impacts of solitary confinement, does not hesitate to use the practice.

In August 2016, 370 people were being held in solitary confinement. In previous years, the average was 700 to 800 a day. At the beginning of 2015-2016, 247 prisoners spent at least 120 days in solitary confinement. During the previous year, 498 had done so. By 15 May 2017, 404 persons were in solitary confinement, comprising 2.8 % of the prison population. Among these, 224 had been there for more than 16 days, and 22 for more than 100 days.

These numbers indicate a somewhat reduced systematic use of solitary confinement. A spokesperson for the Correctional Service of Canada stated that: “All facilities respect the law and policies on preventive confinement and ensure that all other viable alternatives have been examined before placing someone in preventive confinement”.

On 9 August 2016, a judge in Alberta rendered a decision (2016 ABQB 440) based on the Mandela Rules regarding the CSC’s treatment of three inmates, that the government of Canada has not yet adopted. The judge ordered “that they be immediately released from isolation and returned to the general population”. He stated that the CSC does not respect the rules . One of the prisoners spent a total of 822 days in confinement over two periods of 383 and 291 days each.

The CSC is beginning to take heed. They are aware of the demands prisoners are making to have their human rights respected. In January 2015, the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and the John Howard Society of Canada filed a joint Notice of Civil Claim to have the CSC respect the United Nations standard minimum rules on solitary confinement³.

During 2014/2015, disciplinary measures were imposed on 12,919 prisoners in Québec provincial prisons. They spent a total of 31,765 days in solitary confinement. 2,740 persons were incarcerated in an isolated unit for a total of 9,380 days, for a maximum length of time of 35 days.

Every day, approximately 575 prisoners are held in solitary confinement in Ontario provincial prisons. This represents 7 % of the prison population. Adam Capy, a First Nations person, spent 1,591 consecutive days “in a cell, covered with a sheet of Plexiglas across the front, under continuous bright lights which blocked out night from day”⁴. A collective Notice of Civil Claim was filed against the correctional services regarding the thousands of people detained since 1985.

No cases of secret or arbitrary detention have been reported.