Whitehorse Daily Star

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Tracy-Anne McPhee, Michael Nehass and Liz Hanson

Qualified independent party to inspect WCC

he Yukon’s minister of Justice plans to direct an independent inspection into how the Whitehorse Correctional Centre (WCC) handles inmates with mental health concerns, including Michael Nehass.

By Emily Blake on September 20, 2017

The Yukon’s minister of Justice plans to direct an independent inspection into how the Whitehorse Correctional Centre (WCC) handles inmates with mental health concerns, including Michael Nehass.

The decision comes following the conclusion of Nehass’s high-profile criminal case, which raised concerns about his treatment at the facility.

“I’m very keen to make sure we determine exactly what happened in this case,” minister Tracy-Anne McPhee told the Star this week.

She said the inspection will review records at the WCC and look at Nehass’s treatment.

It will also include a review of the facility, services and improvements that can be made.

“Inmates who have mental health concerns is a serious concern for all departments of justice,” McPhee said.

“The vast majority of inmates present (with mental health concerns), and, as a result, we need to make sure that we are properly providing services for them.”

Once the minister directs the inspection under the territory’s Coroner’s Act, findings must be reported to the deputy minister within 90 days.

McPhee said officials are working on finding an independent person with the necessary expertise to complete the inspection.

Once the review is complete, she said, they will decide the best steps moving forward.

“I’m interested in evidence-based decision-making,” McPhee said.

Some of the issues raised in Nehass’s case include allegations of the excessive use of segregation and that the facility was not equipped to handle his mental health needs.

There are also concerns that the WCC is not living up to the needs of First Nations inmates.

Nehass, 33, is a member of the Tahltan Nation and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

His lawyer, Anik Morrow, said he spent 22 to 23 hours a day in his cell in the segregation unit.

When outside, he was kept in handcuffs, belly chains and shackles, even while he showered.

Justice Scott Brooker noted that Nehass’s time in segregation led to the deterioration of his mental health.

In January 2014, guards in riot gear held Nehass naked and shackled to the floor of his cell for a court appearance by video.

But WCC officials insist while they employ segregation and separate confinement, they do not use solitary confinement like other jurisdictions.

As well, McPhee said there has been an effort to develop more culturally relevant programming, including incorporating traditional food, cultural workshops, language lessons and a newly established healing room.

Outside the facility, she said, they can also make referrals to Yukon First Nations land-based healing camps.

The Yukon NDP has been calling for a public inquiry into Nehass’s case and an independent audit into the use of segregation at the WCC.

NDP Leader Liz Hanson said she wants an open and frank public discussion, not only about Nehass’s particular case, but about the systemic issues involved.

“It just begs this government, in the spirit of reconciliation, let’s revisit what’s going on at WCC,” Hanson said in an interview last week.

She noted the facility, which opened in 2012 at a cost of more than $70 million, has not met visions of a community corrections centre.

Instead, it’s more akin to a maximum security prison, Hanson said.

“In the Yukon, we use our jail as a mental health hospital, and that’s not acceptable,” she said.

“Clearly, pushing it down or doing more repressive measures did not work with Mr. Nehass.”

Roger Ellis, who is currently on the WCC’s Elders Advisory group, has also raised concerns about the facility.

“It’s the way inmates are being treated like maximum security, which it isn’t; it’s got to change,” he told the Star outside the courtroom.

While several elders have voiced their concerns over the years, he said, they have yet to receive a response.

Nehass’s nearly six-year legal saga concluded earlier this month, when the Crown stayed criminal charges.

Morrow said that amounted to a gag order on many of the issues in the case.

And it left Nehass stranded in Ontario, where he had been sent via court order to be assessed at the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health in Whitby.

Last week, it was confirmed that through a variation of that court order, he would be transferred to the Hillside Centre, a civil mental health facility in Kamloops, B.C.

Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale also said he plans to write a memorandum on the case.

The lengthy legal battle began in 2011, when Nehass was charged with assault with a weapon and forcible confinement, among other charges, in relation to the assault of a woman at knife-point in Watson Lake.

While he was found guilty of many of the charges by a judge and jury in May 2015, he was declared unfit for trial in January 2017.

It was the first time in Canadian history that a person has been found unfit after the completion of a trial.

While Nehass has been incarcerated since December 2011, he has never been sentenced for the alleged crimes.

In a statement about the case, Brad Cathers, the Yukon Party’s justice critic said, “The official Opposition supports a justice system that protects the rights of inmates while ensuring the safety of our community as a whole.

“We have confidence in the dedicated staff at the Department of Justice, including staff at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre.”

Comments (16)

Up 4 Down 0

What evidence? on Sep 26, 2017 at 1:23 pm

There is no actual evidence in McPhee's decision making. That just a Liberal talking point that means they will do what ever they want. They have yet to show any evidence for any decision they have made.

Up 5 Down 3

According to inside staff, on Sep 26, 2017 at 11:11 am

the real problem is weak, unqualified management. Highly trained and proper support would work.

Up 6 Down 0

g on Sep 26, 2017 at 7:22 am

"“I’m interested in evidence-based decision-making,” McPhee said." The problem remains that much of the evidence is selected to support a predetermined decision rather than considering ALL the evidence which would consider the issue in a much broader context.
Solve the problem, don't be content with just the low-hanging policy fruit.

Up 13 Down 5

Nile on Sep 24, 2017 at 10:01 am

I wonder what "Qualified Independent Party" aka Liberal friend will get this lush contract that won't change anything.

Up 22 Down 2

Sarah W on Sep 22, 2017 at 4:48 pm

Take all the money the people pleasing Libs are going to spend on this stupid inquiry and employ some mental health professionals. They could spend half time in the communities and half time in WCC/Sarah Steele. Don't spend the money on an inquiry into WCC - it is not the jail it is the resources.

Up 10 Down 1

Josey Wales on Sep 21, 2017 at 9:44 pm

Upon a visit there, they should notice...no gallows.
Trevor the human aside, in my view the lack of gallows is a damn shame.
Lots of s**t goes through there that should be flushed.
Instead, we have a bit in every hood here...waiting to be spread about in our sneakers creating a stench virtually everywhere, that is our new swank criminal infested s**thole formerly called Whitehorse.

8 homicides in less than a year, and the concern is this poor misunderstood feral human? Perhaps that IS the issue, the focus is Hubble like...before the fix?
Nah...justice and their focus, is more like beer goggles after a flat or two.
The pandering parade continues ...

Up 19 Down 2

Kraka on Sep 21, 2017 at 8:06 pm

"NDP call for a public inquiry" LOL get in power then make those decisions. Maybe Liz and Kate can sit around the fire and sing kum-by-a and make it all better.

Up 7 Down 2

jc on Sep 21, 2017 at 6:14 pm

I guess the Speech Police found my innocent comment too offensive.

Up 23 Down 8

bandit on Sep 21, 2017 at 3:39 pm

I see another Khadr payout on the Horizon.

Up 33 Down 1

Groucho d'North on Sep 21, 2017 at 11:32 am

The judicial system needs to be reviewed, not just the warehouse where the misfits are stored. Start in court where a competency review is SOP for persons displaying mental health issues, and be honest rather than trying to associate a person's problems with their race, grandparent's, schooling or any other political excuse, including all the other distractions that get introduced to blur the reality of a why a person performs the way they do. Some really are psychopaths with no feelings or respect for others. Accept that fact.

Up 33 Down 0

Another Truth on Sep 21, 2017 at 11:07 am

When a person is remanded they're remanded to a jail in the jurisdiction where they are 'alleged' to have committed an offence. If you're charged in Ontario, you don't get remanded to Alberta. That local jail system has to take you and keep you.
Michael was assessed several times by psychiatrists and psychologists from Outside but it takes a judicial order to get someone remanded to a psych hospital. If they don't make that order - he stays in jail. One judge tried to suggest he wasn't mentally fit and sent it to the the Review Board, but the Review Board came back saying he was fit.
You can have a mental illness and still be violent, and Michael has a very lengthy and violent history. If he threatens to hurt you, you should take it seriously.
Guards aren't there to be beaten on, and they protect other inmates who also are there from being beaten on by other inmates. The Riot Gear that always get mentioned is designed to protect guards from getting injured when they expect violence from an inmate. Like if an inmate doesn't want to go to court but the judge insists that he go to court no matter what. That's part of their job, getting people to go to court when required by a judge.
Until the Yukon decides to provide resources - including a facility and staff - for mental illness, the jail will remain the Yukon's dumping ground for the mentally ill.

Up 9 Down 18

Twila on Sep 20, 2017 at 11:02 pm

Mike would be fine if he takes his medication. He also needs to abstain from alcohol and drugs. I pray he can get better!

Up 29 Down 1

Straight-uo on Sep 20, 2017 at 10:11 pm

Mr. Nehass is a very very dangerous individual. Thank God he was instituted or someone would've died at his hands.

Up 38 Down 3

y on Sep 20, 2017 at 6:42 pm

There are also concerns that the WCC is not living up to the needs of First Nations inmates. Build your own correctional facility and rehab facility to take care of your citizens.

Up 16 Down 11

Fido on Sep 20, 2017 at 5:38 pm

I worked in Guantanamo Bay as well.. I mean WCC and I know how the Justice Dept dealt with Mike Nehass and other hard to deal with inmates. Lockup in Seg for 30 days and we'll review again in a month. Maybe if supervisors and management actually walked around the jail to inspect or review on a regular basis, someone might give a s**t but probably not.

Yes Nehass should have been sent out a long time before his situation degraded but he was being shoved into seg in the old jail for long periods of which could also be the reason he is the way he is. And that was a lot worse of a seg than in the new jail. Maybe they could actually offer some real programs for inmates which they don't offer. WCC management has never been able to deal with inmates or for that matter, staff. Go look a the turnover in staff. But I degress.

Everybody sees this concrete monolith and thinks it's so great for staff and inmates. Hah! Maybe if your mom or dad is high up in the Justice ranks then nepotism is an awesome thing and you can sit on your a** while the rest of the staff deals with all the s**t.

Up 52 Down 4

Truth on Sep 20, 2017 at 3:34 pm

You want to know what happened? Why did Michael stay incarcerated in WCC in Seg for so long? Nobody wanted to pay the bill to have him sent to a Mental Health Facility down South. That's what it all comes down to.
The reason they are being put in segregation is due to their uncooperative and combative behavior, it's not just done for the hell of it. They are put in Seg for the safety of others and staff members.
What people need to realize is Michael is a very dangerous man, unpredictable and very violent. I've witnessed all of this. So yes having him in Seg for such a long period was not right but what choice did WCC have in keeping their facility secure?
Tracey Mcphee knows full well what happened, how could she not?

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