Federal court orders Edmonton prison to install air conditioning after heat complaints spanning two decades
The court directed Correctional Service Canada to record temperatures and seek authorization for AC after inmates reported sleep deprivation and panic attacks in extreme heat.
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The Federal Court has directed an Alberta prison to take steps to install air conditioning in response to heat complaints dating back two decades.
The court found that Correctional Service Canada has failed to put an effective solution in place at the Edmonton Institution for Women's secure unit. The court directed the service to record temperature readings in the unit and to request authorization to install air conditioning.
According to court filings, the heat has caused inmates to suffer from sleep deprivation and panic attacks. One affidavit from an inmate housed in 2018 in a corner cell nicknamed "the oven" described a maintenance worker recording a temperature of over 40 Celsius in her cell.
The Canadian Human Rights Commission has separately referred a complaint by the John Howard Society of Canada about heat in prisons to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, widening scrutiny of conditions across Canada's correctional facilities.
The facts
Which prison did the Federal Court order to install air conditioning?
The Edmonton Institution for Women's secure unit in Alberta. The Federal Court directed Correctional Service Canada to take steps to install air conditioning after heat complaints spanning two decades.
What did the court order the prison to do?
The Federal Court directed Correctional Service Canada to record temperature readings in the secure unit and to request authorization to install air conditioning.
What health problems have inmates reported from the heat?
According to court filings, inmates have suffered from sleep deprivation and panic attacks due to extreme heat in the Edmonton Institution for Women's secure unit.
What temperature was recorded in one inmate's cell?
Over 40 Celsius was recorded in a corner cell at the Edmonton Institution for Women's secure unit in 2018, according to a maintenance worker's measurement cited in an inmate affidavit.
