In a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19 behind bars, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association is urging Ottawa to release some prisoners and limit further incarceration.

Michael Bryant, executive director and general counsel for the civil-rights group, on Sunday appealed to federal Attorney General David Lametti to act.

“In a nutshell, a public health approach would necessitate that the releasable be released (and) that detention be a measure of last resort,” Bryant wrote in a three-page letter to the justice minister obtained by the Star.

“For those convicted, existing legal tools could be accessed to reduce the prison population (and immigration detention) through conditional releases, compassionate releases, and other discretionary measures,” he continued.

“Every release from confinement will alleviate overcrowding, avoid the spread of infection when the virus reaches penal institutions, and protect inmates, correctional officers, and the innocent families and communities to which detainees and inmates will return.”

Bryant, who was Ontario attorney general when the provincial Emergency Management and Preparedness Act was updated after the 2003 SARS outbreak, said extraordinary measures must be taken during the health crisis.

“For the presumed innocent, pre-trial, quasi-judicial discretion ought to be exercised so as to drop charges where it is in the public interest, which includes the public health issues raised by this pandemic,” he wrote.

The veteran lawyer added that “the ‘public interest’ can be invoked to justify the liberation of a defendant, but not to justify the laying of a charge or continuation of a prosecution, absent a reasonable prospect of conviction.”

He also said “all police and prosecutors should be encouraged, with support from respective governments, to take into account public health goals, and exercise their discretionary authority” by releasing “those charged at the scene” with less serious offences.

As well, Bryant implored Lametti to provide “emergency funding of provincial legal aid services” so those charged are not stuck in limbo.

“Legal Aid Ontario, for example, dispatched duty counsel and funded defence counsel to assist with the disposition of charges and judicial interim releases this past week in Ontario, thereby permitting the release of over 1,000 in custody,” he noted.

Bryant also asked Ottawa to ensure that there continues to be “intergovernmental transparency of legal orders” so Canadians are not left in the dark about the actions being taken the various levels of government.

“Regarding access to information, during the coronavirus response, at least, the executive branch must better align itself with the legislative and judicial branches of the state,” he said.

“A judicial decision is made public immediately upon being rendered. The same is true of legislative action. The same is not true of cabinet orders. While political communication of an executive decision receives great attention before and after it’s made, the same cannot be said for the disclosure of legal orders.”

On Saturday, Premier Doug Ford acknowledged there are concerns about conditions inside provincial jails during the pandemic.

“Right now, I know our number one priority … is to take care of our correctional service guards,” Ford said at Queen’s Park.

“They’re out there. They’re on the frontline making sure that everything safe in the jails across this province,” he said, adding Solicitor General Sylvia Jones is “making sure there’s that there’s a plan” to keep the jails safe.

Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union president Warren (Smokey) Thomas, who represents provincial jail guards, said Jones and her officials need to move quickly.

“This threat needs to be nipped in the bud before it gets out of hand,” said Thomas.

“Correctional institutions can be a petri dish in terms of spreading infection and I’m worried the reaction to this threat has been too sluggish. We need to get ahead of the danger,” the union leader said Saturday.

“We need to get the folks making decisions at the ministry level in a room with the medical experts who know what needs to be done to keep everyone in institutions safe,” he said.

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“Our correctional facilities were already under enormous pressure and strain long before COVID-19 came along and this virus could bring complete mayhem if it is not kept in check. Walls and bars won’t stop COVID-19, a clear plan based on advice from medical experts is our best hope to prevent tragedy.”

A 50-year-old woman whose partner is at the Beaver Creek minimum-security prison in Gravenhurst is desperate for Ottawa to act.

“Please. I’m praying. I’ll do whatever I can to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus to inmates,” she said. “Not just for their sakes but if it spreads in there, they won’t be able to treat them …they are going to have to be taken to hospitals and that will flood the hospitals and make it harder on everybody.”

She said in order to “plank the curve” the government “has to really get these inmates out. People like my boyfriend who are non-violent and at a very low risk to re-offend.”

The woman, who is not being named by the Star out of concern for repercussions for her partner, said her partner was convicted of impaired driving and sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.

The 54-year-old will be eligible for day parole in April and has been preparing for his parole hearing for weeks.

She is hoping that he can be released on full parole rather than day parole so that he can be at home with his elderly mother and two children – where it would be safer than a halfway house. He has also been a heavy smoker most of his life, making him particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, she said.

“He keeps trying to calm me down,” she said. “It’s getting to be a lot…I just want him to come home to me.”

She has been terrified for his physical and mental heath his entire time in prison, and has been counting down the days until he can be released.

“I just don’t want him now to get sick with coronavirus and not come out and we won’t have a future,” she said, near tears.

He told her on Friday that, as of Saturday, he and the other inmates at the prison are on lockdown. They are no longer allowed to leave their ranges, other than to have one hour a day outside. Visits with family have been cancelled, as has all programming including Alcoholics Anonymous, she said.

“He is in constant close contact with other inmates now,” she said. “They are getting paranoid. Several inmates are coughing and sniffling and they are very concerned now about being cooped up all day long.”

She said that they are not allowed to have hand sanitizer in the prison due to the alcohol content. Instead her partner has been using a rag and tiny amounts of disinfectant used to sanitize needles for harm-reduction to keep his own room and high-touch spots as clean as possible.