The findings of the Workers Inquiry which we are posting for the first time have a direct bearing on the issues raised by the Voice referendum that seeks to strengthen the capitalist state and obscure the ruling-class agenda of war and austerity.
In November 2019, structured intervention units (SIUs) officially replaced solitary confinement in Canada.
Prior to SIUs, solitary confinement operated through administrative segregation and disciplinary segregation. The new system claimed to add safeguards, mental health supports and provide prisoners with four hours outside their cells per day, including two hours of meaningful interaction. Despite being in place for over a year, recent data shows this system is a failure: one in 10 prisoners in SIUs experience torture.
It is crucial for corrections to respond to this human rights failure. As a socio-legal scholar and a critical policy analyst who studies carceral policy, we believe possible solutions include reducing the number of people confined in SIUs, hard caps on days permitted in SIUs, penalties and oversight. Our goal is to push for institutional accountability and transparency, which has long evaded corrections.