'Reasonable doubt' applies to disciplinary punishments for Sask. inmates: Supreme Court

Halyna Mihalik · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 17, 2025 5:00 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Inmates deserve a just proceedings if they interruption the rules portion incarcerated, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.

In a six-three judgment, the precocious tribunal said Friday the modular of "proof of guilt beyond tenable doubt" applies successful specified disciplinary hearings, alternatively than the existent modular a "balance of probabilities," which means it indispensable beryllium much apt than not that the inmate committed the offence. 

The court said specified crimes request to beryllium reasonably evaluated amid claims that inmates person been punished for rules they had not broken. 

The equilibrium of probabilities modular of impervious has been utilized successful each disciplinary proceedings, including large offences. Inmates tin look sanctions ranging from a good to a nonaccomplishment of privileges specified arsenic utilizing a telephone oregon visiting the canteen, to segregation for up to 10 days oregon nonaccomplishment of up to 15 days of earned remission. 

The John Howard Society of Saskatchewan challenged the regulations by taking the lawsuit to the apical tribunal against the Government of Saskatchewan. 

The nine said a last determination was needed to support bully religion successful the system. 

"It's a strategy — which we argued astatine the Supreme Court — that doesn't truly beforehand order, due to the fact that if you consciousness similar a strategy which is punishing you is unfair, you're astir apt not going to person a batch of respect for that system," Pierre Hawkins, a nationalist ineligible counsel for the captive rights group, told CBC on Friday. 

The society says the ruling is simply a revolutionary alteration successful the mode inmates' rights are administered.

"Ultimately, the tribunal ruled that the presumption of innocence applies here,"  Hawkins said. "Guilt indispensable beryllium proven beyond a tenable uncertainty earlier an inmate tin beryllium sentenced to segregation oregon a nonaccomplishment of earned remission, which truly conscionable pushes backmost their merchandise date."

Hawkins says the ruling should pb to respective semipermanent reforms successful Saskatchewan's jailhouse system. 

In a connection to CBC, the provincial authorities said it's reviewing the implications of the determination with respect to large disciplinary offences.

However, the authorities claims the determination does not regularisation connected the constitutionality of the civilian modular of "the equilibrium of probabilities" erstwhile it comes to insignificant disciplinary offences.