July 17, 1991 - "Cruel and Unusual" Conditions

Jailed youths in Toronto subjected to “cruel and unusual” conditions, court rules. On April 19, 1990, an incident took place at a holding cell in Toronto, Ontario that resulted in three youths being charged with mischief. As was normal procedure, they were transferred from the York Detention Centre to smaller cells in the Jarvis facility to await the completion of their court process. But when they came before Judge King of the Ontario Provincial Court, he stayed (dismissed) the charges for an unusual reason at the time. He referred to the Jarvis cells as “hot and dirty, with no fresh air or air flow and permeated by a putrid smell,” and ruled that the three had been “degraded, humiliated and treated indecently” during their stay. Thus, his ruling on July 17, 1991 declared that their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been violated. As per section 12 of the charter, they’d been subjected to cruel and unusual treatment that was “grossly disproportionate” to what was required. The case set an example followed by judges across Canada where similar mistreatment was involved.

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