Congratulations to Yukon

Campaign for the Abolition of Solitary Confinement | 15 January 2020

Congratulations to Yukon, the first jurisdiction in Canada to adopt firm, legislated, limits on the use of solitary confinement: 15 days, no more than 60 over a 365-day period, with a required 5 day break between any new imposition of solitary. These limits are consistent with the “Mandela rules” adopted by the United Nations.

The Yukon law also bans the use of solitary for pregnant women and those who recently gave birth, those who are suicidal, chronically self-harming or have an intellectual disability or mobility impairment that meet prescribed conditions.

We note that these measures are similar to those adopted by the previous Ontario government (under Premier Kathleen Wynne), but not implemented under the current (Doug Ford) government.

What next? The Campaign for the Abolition of Solitary Confinement looks to other provinces and territories to do at least as much. We would strongly urge that a ban on solitary for those under 25 be added to any legislation – young people can be harmed more by solitary, and as their brains are still developing, the damage can be long-term.

This is a start and we look to forward to the next steps.