Prison needle exchange program urged in lawsuit

A former prisoner infected with hepatitis C is suing the federal government over its refusal to allow clean needle exchanges inside prisons.

Steven Simons, who served 12 years behind bars, has the backing of several HIV/AIDS advocacy organizations in a suit that names Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, the Correctional Service of Canada and its commissioner.

The lawsuit argues the government has arbitrarily disregarded the health evidence on needle exchanges in prisons.

It says the policy disproportionately jeopardizes the liberty and health of the disabled — in this case people suffering from drug addiction.

And it wants a court injunction forcing the creation of a needle exchange program in Canada’s prisons.

A spokeswoman for Toews said the government has a zero tolerance policy for drugs in prison, and that it will never put weapons — including needles — in the hands of prisoners.

“While we cannot comment on a specific case before the courts, I can say that our government is committed to developing a correctional system that actually corrects criminal behaviour,” Julie Carmichael said in an email Tuesday.

“Drug use among prisoners dramatically reduces their chances of successful rehabilitation. Our government will never consider putting weapons, such as needles, in the hands of potentially violent prisoners.”

The lawsuit makes the case that drugs remain prevalent in Canadian prisons and that authorities have acknowledged they cannot completely eliminate prisoner drug abuse.

“The absolute prohibition on sterile injection equipment is arbitrary, over broad and grossly disproportionate to the legitimate objective of curtailing the use of illicit drugs within the correctional system,” says the 13-page application.

The suit states that the government policy ignores years of study and experience in other jurisdictions and that the correctional service and Public Safety Canada “have not provided any evidence on which they claim to base this decision, simply asserting that it is their policy to approach the problems posed by drugs in prisons with ‘zero tolerance’ for drugs.”

In a press release, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network says Canada’s prison population faces HIV rates 10 times the national average, and hepatitis C infections that are 30 times the national average.

The cost of treating these prisoners then falls to taxpayers, and the public also bears the cost of further infections once prisoners serve their sentences and are released, said the release.

“Prison health is public health,” said Sandra Ka Hon Chu, the legal network’s senior policy analyst.

The advocacy group claims the latest Conservative omnibus crime bill passed last spring will only make matters worse “as more and more people are incarcerated for non-violent drug offences.”

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