Federal court orders Edmonton women's prison to install air conditioning

Federal court has ordered Correctional Service Canada to install air conditioning at the Edmonton Institution for Women's secure unit, citing a two-decade history of extreme heat complaints.

Justice Meaghan Conroy issued the directive on July 16 after finding that excessively high temperatures have caused inmates to suffer panic attacks, psychological distress, and sleep deprivation. One inmate housed in a corner cell in 2018 recorded a temperature of over 40°C. Correctional Service Canada has known of design problems with the temperature regulation equipment in the secure unit since at least 2012, yet failed to implement an effective solution.

"Remarkably, it keeps no written records of its temperature readings," Conroy wrote, despite CSC claiming it routinely monitors temperatures. The court directed the agency to begin recording temperature readings and to request authorization to install air conditioning.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission separately referred a complaint by the John Howard Society of Canada to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. Commissioner Sasha Kiran Cragg-Gore noted that CSC hasn't demonstrated it accommodates inmates "to the point of undue hardship" to mitigate extreme heat impacts, particularly for older and disabled incarcerated people unable to self-protect from environmental harm.

Cragg-Gore wrote that as temperatures rise due to climate change, this case could set a precedent for how federal institutions adapt operational standards to safeguard the health and dignity of those in custody.