More than a dozen defence lawyers are urgently calling on the territory to temporarily release as many inmates as possible from NWT jails amid growing concerns over COVID-19 and its potentially SA国际影视传媒渃atastrophicSA国际影视传媒� impact on vulnerable prisoners.

Citing SA国际影视传媒済rave concernsSA国际影视传媒� about the health and safety of inmates living in close quarters in the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 three jails, located in Yellowknife, Hay River and Fort Smith, lawyer Kate Oja sent an email to top-ranking staff at each facility Monday afternoon, urging them to grant temporary absences for inmates on humanitarian grounds.

SA国际影视传媒淥ur clients are at serious risk of rapid transmission and exposure to the virus, should it make its way into the institutions, and do not have the freedom to protect themselves,SA国际影视传媒� wrote Oja. SA国际影视传媒淎n outbreak of COVID-19 in any one of the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 jails could be catastrophic.SA国际影视传媒�

Including Oja, the letter is signed by 15 NWT defence lawyers.

Cc'd in the email are Justice Minister Caroline Wawzonek, NWT Commanding Officer Jamie Zettler and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, an office of the Attorney General of Canada that assigns prosecutors to cases.

The territory confirmed its first case of COVID-19 over the weekend.

Inmates can be granted temporary absences from correctional facilities for a number of reasons, including medical purposes and for urgent family matters.

Defence lawyers want the territorial government to act quickly to safeguard the susceptible population.

TheySA国际影视传媒檙e calling on facilities to fast-track temporary absence applications by identifying inmates who are most at risk, factoring in age and underlying medical issues, and process their requests first.

The email recommends the granting of temporary absences to inmates serving intermediate sentences SA国际影视传媒� usually on weekends SA国际影视传媒� so they aren't required to enter jail weekly.

The correspondence calls for a SA国际影视传媒渓iberalSA国际影视传媒� application of the criteria for temporary absences, enabling the SA国际影视传媒済reatest number of releases possible.SA国际影视传媒�

Practising social distancing SA国际影视传媒� the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 chief medical officer recommends residents stay at least two metres away from each other in public SA国际影视传媒� is rarely an option for inmates, wrote Oja.

SA国际影视传媒淔or inmates in custody, often housed two or three to a cell, sharing toilet and bathing facilities, as well as kitchen and dining areas, these directives are not an option,SA国际影视传媒� she wrote.

She referred to a call from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association to "use existing legal tools to reduce the prison population" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The association is pushing for SA国际影视传媒渉umaneSA国际影视传媒� releases based on conditional, compassionate and discretionary measures to avoid correctional facilities becoming SA国际影视传媒渂reeding grounds for a virus outbreak.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淭he frightening SA国际影视传媒� and potentially deadly SA国际影视传媒� prospect of widespread transmission of COVID-19 within jails already looms elsewhere in Canada, and the U.S,SA国际影视传媒� states MondaySA国际影视传媒檚 email to NWT jail staff.

Asked about public safety issues related to the release of certain inmates, Peter Harte, one of the lawyers backing the urgent plea, said when prisoners are housed in a facility in a bid to keep the public safe, theySA国际影视传媒檙e afforded the fundamental right of being kept safe themselves. If those rights are upheld, then temporary absences, based on humanitarian grounds, should be granted, in this case, not only for the prisoner, but for their family and the public at large.

A jail guard recently tested positive for COVID-19 at the Toronto South Detention Centre SA国际影视传媒� a facility that houses up to 1,650 inmates SA国际影视传媒� and prisons and jails south of the border have moved to release inmates due to COVID-19 concerns.

The same should be done here, for the safety of inmates, their families and the public at large, the lawyers argue.

Harte noted that the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 border is closed; stores are shut down and people are being asked to physically distance themselves from one another, yet thereSA国际影视传媒檚 still 100-plus inmates living in close proximity to one another in Yellowknife alone SA国际影视传媒� thatSA国际影视传媒檚 a problem, he said.

If the GNWT is implementing such stringent measures, how is placing so many people in close quarters safe, he asks.

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檙e dealing with a group of people who canSA国际影视传媒檛 practise self-isolation; who can only practise limited social distancing SA国际影视传媒� our thinking is that we need to reduce (the number of people in jails) as much, and as quickly as we can,SA国际影视传媒� said Harte.

In the email sent to Corrections Service staff Monday, itSA国际影视传媒檚 noted that the vast majority of inmates housed in NWT jails are Indigenous SA国际影视传媒� people impacted by inter-generational trauma, driven by the effects of the residential school system and colonialism, and who often didn't have access to health care, leaving many with compromised health.

SA国际影视传媒淭he problem of over-representation of Indigenous people in Canadian institutions has been recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada as one that must be remedied. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we fear that this over-representation will mean a disproportionate exposure and vulnerability to the virus,SA国际影视传媒� states the letter.

Defence lawyers say time is of the essence SA国际影视传媒� inmates will return home to small NWT communities. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 why itSA国际影视传媒檚 crucial they leave now, SA国际影视传媒渂efore the virus enters the jails and puts them at risk of infection, and transmission to the communities.SA国际影视传媒�

Need for transparency

Lawyers backing the plea are also calling for transparency. They want correctional facilities to SA国际影视传媒渋mmediately make each institutionSA国际影视传媒檚 plan for prevention, testing and outbreak management and treatment for COVID-19 public.SA国际影视传媒�

A Department of Justice spokesperson, refusing to provide specifics on contingency plans in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak, didn't address why details were not being released to the public when asked by SA国际影视传媒 last week.

The department said it was beefing up health safety measures while adhering to self-isolation protocol for staff who had recently travelled, but declined to say what strategies were in place in the event of a facility outbreak.

Harte called the tight-lipped response SA国际影视传媒減erplexing.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淭he administration of justice fundamentally depends on the certainty that inmates are going to be properly taken care of,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

According to Harte, Oja, fuelled by concern over the safety of inmates in NWT jails, sent an email to jail staff on March 19 SA国际影视传媒� two days before the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 first COVID-19 case was announced SA国际影视传媒� asking for clarification of COVID-19 protocol and plans.

So far, thereSA国际影视传媒檚 been no response, he said.

The majority of inmates currently in NWT jails are in remand custody. They haven't been convicted of a crime.