PENITENTIARIES |
Blass v. Canada (Attorney General)
T-151-00
Lemieux J.
30/11/00
12 pp.
Application for judicial review of Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) decision upholding decision to place applicant in segregation from April 23 to May 11, 1999 following riot with significant material damage on April 22, 1999 in Port-Cartier Institution--Applicant, one of instigators of riot according to information gathered by CSC, segregated on ground he might impede investigation--Respondent submits application moot, since investigation concluded, applicant no longer in segregation--Application allowed--Procedural fairness in case of administrative segregation requiring inmate be sufficiently informed of allegations against him to be able to reply to them--In case at bar, authorities in Port-Cartier Institution failed to give applicant any information indicating why identified as one of instigators--Lack of information meant applicant unable to rebut in any real, effective way decision of prison authorities--Respondent did not explain why applicant given no information in this regard, nor did it claim that information originated from confidential source that had to be protected--Demaria v. Regional Classification Board, [1987] 1 F.C. 74 (F.C.T.D.) applied: prison authorities in Port-Cartier failed to adhere to applicable statutory or regulatory provisions, breached fairness principle in relation to applicant by failing to give him any relevant information concerning allegations behind his administrative segregation--In regard to allegation of mootness, principle of collateral legal consequences warrants decision on merits: Borowski v. Canada (Attorney General), [1989] 1 S.C.R. 342; Zarzour v. Canada (Attorney General), [2000] A.C.F. 103--In anticipation of eventual application for parole, would be unfair to allow applicant's record to remain in present state, since did not have opportunity to dispute merits of rationale for segregation--Furthermore, Commissioner's Directive and Act require any information about offender that CSC uses be accurate, up-to-date and complete.