In this video Emilie Coyle, the Executive Director of CAEFS, interviews Emilie Taman (Champ Law and Associates). Taman was CAEFS’ counsel for our Supreme Court of Canada intervention in R v Sharma. They discuss what it means to intervene at the Supreme Court of Canada, what our argument was, and more. Closed captioning is available in English and French. You can read our entire submission at https://www.scc-csc.ca/WebDocuments-D…

Stay tuned to our social media platforms for more information about this intervention and other CAEFS actions.

This panel was recorded on April 19th, 2021, as a response to questions and concerns from incarcerated people and their loved ones that were shared with Dr. Idil Abdillahi, El Jones, and advocates from the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies.

The panelists discuss the follow questions, and more: 

• Why should people who are incarcerated trust CSC to give them the vaccine? 
• What are health considerations/ concerns related to population health that people might consider? 
• Might there be some spiritual and/or dietary considerations that should be considered? 
• What are the potential side effects to health? Especially for people who are immunocompromised? 
• What happens if someone refuses the vaccine? 
• Why did some governments prioritize Indigenous people for vaccination? 
• What is the link between experiences of trauma and hospitals / health “care”? 

A version of this panel was distributed to the Correctional Service of Canada to be shared with federally incarcerated people. 

To mark Sexual and Reproductive Health Awareness Day 2021 and the launch of “Reproductive (In)Justice in Canadian Federal Prisons for Women”, we share an hour-long conversation between Emilie Coyle, Martha Paynter, and Toni Sinclair that dives deeper into this critical issue. They discuss the experience of developing and delivering the workshops that informed the report, what we learned, and what we are going to do next.

To mark Prisoner Justice Day 2020, we screened “The Garden Collective”, a film by Sara Wylie. This film follows the Prison for Women Memorial Collective as they work to build a memorial garden on the grounds of the former Prison for Women in Kingston, Ontario. The screening is followed by a panel discussion between members of the P4W Collective and CAEFS, featuring: Ann Hansen, Sara Tessier, and Rashida Samji. 

As an organization, we’ve always known that human rights for criminalized and marginalized people are hard won. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, it has been made clear that these rights – even when won – can still be overlooked and minimized. Having rights enshrined in law is not enough. 

In 2021, we drew inspiration from the legacy of this organization’s namesake, Elizabeth Fry, and her work in asserting the humanity of incarcerated people – in helping to center the ‘human’ in their ‘human rights’ through our awareness raising campaign.

Through a series of video interviews, available below, we put a spotlight on the work that is happening across our network of 24 local Elizabeth Fry Societies and regional advocates to safeguard the humanity of people within systems and structures that are designed to be dehumanizing. We also used this moment to reiterate our numerous calls to act to protect the safety of incarcerated people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, November 16th a coalition of groups invested in prisoner justice launched a 15-day spotlight on the ongoing practice of solitary confinement in Canada. This spotlight led up to the one-year anniversary of the supposed implementation of the Structured Intervention Units (SIUs) in federal Canadian prisons. 

While the federal government may have announced that solitary confinement has been abolished in Canada, this 15-day spotlight – coordinated by The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, The John Howard Society of Canada, Prisoners’ Legal Services, and the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University – brought light all of the ways in which the practice of solitary confinement continues to persist in Canada, just by any other name. 

Daily events include panels with some of Canada’s most respected and recognized advocates, scholars, lawyers, and politicians – and features the critical voices of individuals with lived experiences of incarceration and community groups. Watch recordings below.  

In April/ May 2020, as we entered into the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, CAEFS partnered with the Justice for Soli Movement to host a series of live-streamed conversations with activists, legal and healthcare professionals, government officials, and individuals with lived experience of incarceration. Watch the recordings below.

Public Health and Prisons, with Martha Paynter

Working in Solidarity with Prisoners, with El Jones

Federally Incarcerated Women, with Senator Kim Pate and Madame Justice Louise Arbour

Conditions of Confinement, with Paul Champ 

The Gendered Impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous Women, with Dr. Pam Palmater

Impacts of Incarceration on Spiritual and Mental Health, with Imam Yasin Dwyer

Taking Action, with Lindsay Jennings and Souheil Benslimane  

 

See our YouTube page and follow us on social media for more videos