Advocate hopes to peel ‘back the curtain’ as 2 jail deaths in N.S. under review

Nova Scotia is assembling a group of medical and legal professionals, along with members of Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotian communities, to form a new committee tasked with investigating the deaths of people in provincial jails.

In a Wednesday release, the province said the deaths-in-custody review committee will “examine the facts and circumstances leading up to a death and make recommendations to the Justice Minister to help prevent similar deaths in the future.”

The group, chaired by the province’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Matt Boews, will review two recent incidents of people who died while in the province’s custody. The committee will also include a Crown attorney, an RCMP officer and a retired senior correctional services official.

“It’s my hope the families find some comfort and confidence from the findings of a death review committee and know that the death of their loved one has been independently examined by experts,” Boews said in Wednesday’s release.

Following the review, the committee’s recommendations will be made public after being received by the province’s justice minister.

The release said the names of the individuals whose fatal circumstances are under investigation won’t be released, citing the Personal Health Information Act and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

In a statement to Global News, the province confirmed they were investigating the deaths of both a male and a female who died in custody earlier this year.

“We can confirm a male person in custody at the Cape Breton Correctional Facility was transferred to hospital and subsequently died on Jan. 28,” said Deborah Bayer, communications advisor for Nova Scotia’s Department of Justice.

“A female in custody at Central Nova Correctional Facility died in hospital on March 26. We cannot disclose publicly the cause of deaths as they constitute personal health information.”

Bayer noted there is currently no set timeline for when the investigation is expected to be completed but said completing the review and making recommendations public “as quickly as possible” is a priority.

Dr. Martha Paynter, director of research for Wellness Within, a group that serves Nova Scotian women, transgender and nonbinary people who have committed crimes, said although she believes the panel’s formation is a “step in the right direction,” she has some concerns about the selection process.

“I am concerned with the RCMP and formal corrections management being on the panel,” she said, acknowledging that she also sees how their experience may be wanted by the Department of Justice.

The province said additional committee members may join the process if required, should specific subject matter call for “cultural or gender expertise.”

“I’m a little concerned that gender was suggested as something to be considered in an ad-hoc way,” Paynter added.

In May, Paynter’s volunteer-based organization called for a public inquiry into the death of a 36-year-old Mi’kmaw woman who died from pneumonia in March while being held at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth.

She says it’s “always important” that the public is provided transparency regarding the conduct taking place in all public intuitions, including prisons.

“At a bare minimum, I hope this process peels back the curtain and makes visible what so often is so profoundly invisible, about what has happened to people whose liberty we have denied,” Paynter said.

She said the experiences of people who’ve been incarcerated could also offer insight to the investigation and she would like to see some involved.

She noted that many organizations beyond Wellness Within, such as the Elizabeth Fry Society, have been pushing for investigations into the deaths of people in provincial custody for years.

“I don’t think that this was quick, but it certainly is heartening to see some improvement in accountability,” she said.

The organization continues to encourage the provincial government to conduct a fatality review for all deaths in custody and public institutions. It first called for these measures in 2019.

The province said the newly formed committee will offer an annual report to the justice minister, which will have recommendations for system improvements that will then be shared publicly.

Justice Minister Brad Johns said the newly formed committee will “provide answers in the tragic event that someone in one of our provincial correctional facilities dies suddenly and unexpectedly.”

“The death of a person in custody is heartbreaking for families and their community, and it’s concerning to me as Minister,” said Johns.

The province has been able to organize “death review committees” after changes were made to the Fatality Investigations Act in October 2021.

Despite the deaths-in-custody review committee being the first group to receive a mandate of investigating deaths inside the province’s correctional system, it’s the third of its kind created under the act.

Two committees were previously established to provide recommendations based on investigations into the deaths of children in care, and deaths related to domestic violence.