Juvenile solitary issues

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In a report that was filed Wednesday, child and youth advocate Irwin Elman called the practice of solitary confinement, inhumane and wants the Province to change the law.

His goal is for institutions that house young offenders to focus on re-habilitation rather than punishment.

Irwin Elman made six recommendations aimed at changing the way we think about children in custody.

The most significant is the call for an outright ban on solitary confinement for longer than 24 hours.

Currently the law allows children under the age of 16 to be in solitary for 8 hours at a time. Children over the age of 16 can be in for as long as 72 hours. Elman says that he has heard of solitary lasting as long as 15 days.

Elman spoke with 141 jailed youths across Ontario’s 20 facilities between 2009 and 2014.

He says that an absolute ban on solitary confinement for more than 24 hours is consistent with the United Nation’s position on torture, that requires action from the Province and Premier Kathleen Wynne agrees.

While they are calling for the changes to happen immediatly, the Legislature does not sit again until September 14th.