Canadian prison guards advocate for overdose prevention sites after B.C. inmate dies
Canadian prison guards are raising alarm over the country’s approach to drug use in federal jails after the death of an inmate in B.C. this week.
Kelly Michael Richet died in custody on Tuesday, nearly seven months to the day after he began serving his five-year sentence for manslaughter at Mountain Institution in Agassiz, Correctional Service Canada said in a statement Friday.
While the CSC did not provide a cause of death, a release issued the same day by the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers states Richet fatally overdosed on fentanyl.
Richet's death comes one month after CSC announced plans to implement a Prison Needle Exchange Program at Mountain Institution, giving inmates access to clean drug paraphernalia in their personal cells.
“UCCO-SACC-CSN strongly opposes the use of PNEP and has advocated that the CSC instead deploy supervised overdose prevention sites,” the union wrote in its statement Friday.
PNEPs have existed in Canada since 2018, when the federal government rolled out a pilot program in certain jails.
“In keeping with the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy, the Government of Canada is committed to protecting the health and safety of all Canadians, including federal inmates, through continued access to harm reduction and evidence-based health services,” Ralph Goodale, the former public safety minister, said in a statement announcing the initiative.
To date, nine federal prisons have a PNEP in place, two of which are in B.C. – the Mission and Fraser Valley institutions.
“Before an individual can participate in the PNEP program, CSC must complete a Threat Risk Assessment (TRA), to confirm that it is suitable to allow the individual to possess a needle, similar to the one currently being used for Epipens and needles for insulin use,” the CSC said in a statement to CTV News.
However, giving out clean needles and supporting inmates to use drugs alone is only going to cause more overdoses, argues John Randle, UCCO-SACC-CSN’s pacific region president.
“Overdoses are almost becoming a daily thing. It’s happening a lot more now than I’ve ever seen in my career,” said Randle, who’s worked as a correctional officer in B.C. since 2010.
“Drugs shouldn’t be in prisons in the first place,” he emphasized in an interview with CTV News.
“Ultimately, it’s a tough pill for us to swallow, but we have to deal with the cards we’ve been dealt, so now we’re advocating for the safest of the two options."
THE SAFEST OPTION
Through an OPS model, inmates would use drugs in the company of nurses or health-care professionals at prisons. Randle says this is the preferred option because it would reduce the risk of fatal overdoses while giving inmates access to addiction treatments with the goal of getting off drugs.
“When people come into federal custody, they’re there because they’ve committed some serious crimes, some of which are linked to addiction,” Randle said.
“If we’re just going to allow them to stay in our facilities, allow them to continue participating in the drug culture, and then release them back into the community, the message ultimately being sent is, ‘Sorry community, you’re dealing with them again because we don’t want to do it.'”
‘WE FEEL HELPLESS’
Unsupervised drug use in prisons also poses danger to other inmates and staff, the union emphasizes.
“Two officers were exposed to fentanyl this week, with health consequences which could have been deadly without first aid,” reads the UCCO-SACC-CSN statement.
It’s believed Richet was either smoking or snorting fentanyl prior to his death, and Randle says the two officers were likely exposed to the drug while performing CPR or searching his cell.
One of the officers was administered naloxone, a medication used to reverse or reduce the effects of opioids.
“As a correction officer, it's kind of your worst nightmare, to be honest with you,” he admits.
When asked how fentanyl got into Mountain Institution, Randle couldn’t say, but speculated drones may have played a role.
“Drone delivery is the biggest issue we’re facing in terms of getting drugs into prison. It’s becoming a crisis for us, we feel helpless,” he said.
SOME HOPE ON THE HORIZON
Ultimately, it’s up to Ottawa to decide whether to expand OPS access to more prisons.
Alberta’s Drumheller Institution houses Canada’s first-ever prison OPS, and another was established in July at Nova Scotia’s Springhill Institution.
“Since their establishment there have been no fatal overdoses at these sites,” reads the CSC’s statement. “These OPS are the only existing prison-based supervised consumption sites known worldwide.”
The agency says it’s committed to expanding access to both PNEP and OPS across the country.
“Mental health and problematic substance use are first-and-foremost a health issue, and we continue to work to break down stigma, while providing effective and appropriate treatments,” writes the CSC, adding the safety and security of staff, the public and inmates will remain paramount.
It declined to comment further on Richet’s death.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have told the court the accused unlawfully caused the death of four women, but argue he is not criminally responsible due to mental disorder.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Russia warns Britain and plans nuclear drills over the West's possible deepening role in Ukraine
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.