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The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services confirmed there were two “shower cells” in the jail’s segregation wing, but would not release numbers on how many times the practice had been used.

The shower cells are the smallest cells at the jail. They measure eight by 10 feet, including the square footage of the shower stall in the corner, and the seatless stainless steel toilet, the ministry said.

Brent Ross, the jail authority’s spokesman, had told Postmedia the shower cells were used as a last resort.

Paolo Giancaterino, lawyer for Larry Seguin, an inmate bunked in the shower cells, said the facilities were unfit for a dog.

“Overcrowding at the jail is rampant. There is no dispute. The public should also be aware of what effect overcrowding has on those who are detained in that facility,” Giancaterino said. “When a client like Larry Seguin describes being held in a so-called shower cell, it is almost too surreal to believe. To have the ministry allow a human being to be kept in custody in a shower section within the facility is nothing short of disgusting.”

Naqvi said that overcrowding at OCDC is serious problem and that he is forming a task force to develop an action plan to deal with the overcrowding in the near term, and to identify long-term solutions to improve the health and safety of all inmates and staff.

“As part of our overall work to transform the correctional system, and through the comprehensive review of the segregation policy currently underway, we are reviewing and strengthening our practices around segregation, record management and inmate placement,” Naqvi said.