Docket:
T-684-11
Citation:
2012 FC 870
Ottawa, Ontario, July
10, 2012
PRESENT: The Honourable Mr. Justice Mosley
BETWEEN:
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FRANK KIM
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Applicant
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and
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THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA
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Respondent
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REASONS FOR
JUDGMENT AND JUDGMENT
[1]
The
applicant, Frank Kim, seeks judicial review of the dismissal of his grievance
against decisions by the Correctional Service of Canada (hereafter CSC)
relating to his security placement. Mr. Kim, a self-represented litigant,
contests the decision rendered by Assistant Commissioner Ian McCowan on
February 21, 2011. Among other things, he complains that his file contains
incorrect information and claims damages for his placement in a maximum
security institution.
[2]
This
is an application under s. 18.1 of the Federal Courts Act, RSC, c F-7.
For the reasons that follow, I find that the application is, in part, moot as
the applicant was transferred to a medium security institution shortly after
the final grievance decision. I decline to exercise my discretion to consider
that aspect of the matter but address the applicant’s concern about the file
information.
BACKGROUND:
[3]
Mr.
Kim is serving an indeterminate sentence as a result of having been declared a
dangerous offender in October 2000.
[4]
On
September 22, 2007, while detained at Mountain Institution, a medium security
penitentiary, the applicant was observed by a correctional officer to assault
another prisoner. The other prisoner required hospital treatment for stab
wounds. Mr. Kim was charged with a serious disciplinary offence. The charge was
dismissed on January 16, 2008 in a hearing before an Independent Chair Person.
Mr. Kim admits the assault but asserts that he was acting in self-defence in
response to a threat of imminent harm by the other prisoner. No reasons were
provided for the decision but it appears that the self-defence plea was
supported by the witnessing officer.
[5]
Following
the incident, the applicant was segregated and then transferred to the Kent
Institution, a maximum security penitentiary. On November 23, 2007, the
applicant advised a CSC manager that his safety was in jeopardy and he was
voluntarily placed in segregation. Shortly thereafter, he was transferred to an
alternative housing unit within the prison where he had access to programs and
services provided to the general population.
[6]
On
April 23, 2008 the applicant was involved in an altercation with another
inmate. He allegedly cut the inmate’s cheek. In an incident report, the other
inmate alleged that the applicant had rushed at him and slashed his face and
ear. Knives fashioned from razor blades and pens were found nearby. Mr. Kim was
seen leaving the area, apprehended and again placed in segregation. He does not
admit the assault but tacitly acknowledges he was involved in some type of a
confrontation with the other inmate. The incident report was not disclosed to
him prior to the Assistant Commissioner’s decision. Had it been, Mr. Kim says,
he could have submitted evidence to support his claim that he was not the
aggressor including a witness statement from another inmate.
[7]
On
July 29, 2008 Mr. Kim was charged with a disciplinary offence under s. 40 (r)
of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, SC 1992, c 20
(hereafter the CCRA)
which
pertains to disobeying a written rule. The charge was dismissed by an
Independent Chair Person on November 12, 2008 as having been laid under the
wrong section and not under the provision dealing with assaults and fights.
[8]
Mr.
Kim remained in segregation between April 23, 2008 and May 28, 2009 save for a
few days in the general population for assessment. On May 29, 2009 Mr. Kim was
released from segregation and transferred to another maximum-security facility,
the Atlantic Institution. He was involuntarily segregated again on July 23,
2009 after he told an officer that he was being threatened.
[9]
Mr.
Kim had agreed upon arrival at the Atlantic Institution to report threats and
intimidation and not to respond to them with violence. On January 14, 2010,
the applicant's case management team recommended that he be given an
institutional adjustment rating of moderate and be transferred to a medium
security institution. This was supported by a Security Reclassification Scale
score in an assessment by the applicant’s Institutional Parole Officer
(hereafter IPO). However, the Manager Assessment Intervention was of the
opinion that the applicant had not demonstrated sufficient stability in an open
population to justify downgrading the classification. This was in part due to a
report that Mr. Kim had said he would stay and fight rather than “check in” to
segregation when he advised the staff of the threat in July, 2009.
[10]
In
decisions rendered on January 25, 2010 and February 25, 2010, the Warden, Head
of the Atlantic Institution, declined to approve the reclassification. This was
based, in part, on information in the Offender Management System file in which
Mr. Kim was referred to as the aggressor in the two stabbing incidents. The
Warden also considered that Mr. Kim had not yet remained long enough in the
general population (only 7 weeks in 28 months) to determine if he was ready to
go back to a less secure environment.
[11]
The
applicant grieved both of the Warden's decisions. The grievances were merged
and dealt with as a single complaint. In a second level decision dated August
23, 2010 the Warden’s findings and decision were upheld. The applicant filed a
third level grievance on September 20, 2010.
[12]
At
each level of grievance, the applicant objected to being labelled as an
aggressor, particularly in reference to the two incidents for which charges
were dismissed. He asked that his escape risk rating be reduced to low from
moderate; that his institutional adjustment rating be reduced to moderate and
that the records relating to the stabbing and cutting incidents be corrected.
In the second level response to his grievance Mr. Kim was advised that he must
direct a request to his IPO as that officer was responsible for corrections.
Mr. Kim did so on April 6, 2010.
[13]
The
IPO replied on April 8, 2010 that he required more than the regulation 15 day
time limit to address the request. No further action appears to have been taken
on this request. Mr. Kim raised it again in his submissions at the third level
of the grievance procedure.
[14]
The
third level grievance was dismissed by the Assistant Commissioner in a February
21, 2011 ruling. The applicant was transferred to La Macaza Institution, a
medium security facility, on March 26, 2011. This application for judicial review
was filed on April 19, 2011.
DECISION UNDER
REVIEW:
[15]
The
Assistant Commissioner noted that the analysis at the third level was based,
among other things, on information in the applicant’s Offender Management
System file. This included four minor charges: one that was not proceeded with;
another that had resulted in a conviction and two that had been dismissed. In
addition, the applicant had received three serious charges. On the first, on
July 4, 2003, the applicant had been found not guilty. The second, the
September 22, 2007 incident described above, was dismissed, the Assistant
Commissioner noted, “due to mitigating circumstances”. The third from April
2008 was dismissed as he said “due to wrong designation of the charge”.
[16]
With
respect to the dismissed charges, the Assistant Commissioner considered that
although they did not result in convictions, offence and incident reports
regarding the occurrences had been prepared by witnesses and placed in the
applicant’s files. The records indicated also that the applicant had admitted
to committing the first assault. The Assistant Commissioner concluded that the
incidents were documented in the reports notwithstanding the dismissal of the
charges by the Independent Chair Persons. He considered that they had an impact
on the level of risk presented by Mr. Kim and must be considered as part of the
applicant's security assessment. For that reason, that part of his grievance
was denied.
[17]
As
noted above, in April 2010, the applicant had made a request to his IPO that
his file be corrected to indicate that the charges for the above-mentioned 2007
and 2008 incidents were dismissed. The IPO had requested more time to
respond. The Assistant Commissioner considered that the applicant had not filed
the appropriate first level grievance in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 27 of
the Commissioner’s Directive on Offender Complaints and Grievances (hereafter
CD-081) in relation to the IPO’s failure to act on the request. He, therefore,
dismissed the grievance in respect of the file corrections.
[18]
In
his submissions, the applicant compared his case with that of another inmate
whose situation was allegedly similar with the difference that the other inmate
was classified as a medium-security placement. The Assistant Commissioner denied
that part of the grievance on the basis that comparisons with another inmate
would constitute a violation of the Privacy Act, RSC, 1985, c P-21.
[19]
The
applicant alleged that his voluntary segregation to avoid conflicts with other
inmates should not be used against him in his security assessment. The
Assistant Commissioner acknowledged that the IPO had commended the applicant
for choosing segregation over violence. However, the Assistant Commissioner
considered that this did not alter the applicant’s history of violence and his
long periods in segregation, which included considerable amounts of time in
involuntarily segregation. The Assistant Commissioner supported the Warden’s
decision and denied that part of the grievance.
[20]
The
applicant claimed a monetary penalty for the alleged institutional errors. The
Assistant Commissioner denied that part of the grievance because the claim did
not fall within the scope of the authority in paragraph 63 of CD-081 to provide
compensation for specific loss or damage to personal property or for the
reimbursement of money that the Service is required to provide under
legislation or CSC policy.
ISSUES:
[21]
The
applicant’s Notice of Application and Memorandum of Fact and Law set out
several prayers for declaratory and other relief including an Order for an
immediate transfer to a medium security institution, corrections to his
institutional files and compensation of $500 per day for each day the applicant
was detained in a maximum security prison due to the file indications that he
was the aggressor in the incidents relating to the charges dismissed in January
and November 2008. He seeks an Order to treat this application as an action and
award punitive, exemplary and aggravated damages of $50,000 and costs.
[22]
As
preliminary issues, the respondent submits that the application was not filed
in a timely manner in accordance with the time limit of 30 days set out in s.
18.1(2) of the Federal Courts Act and that the
matter is now effectively moot as the applicant has been transferred to a
medium security institution. I conclude, for reasons discussed below, that an
extension of time should be granted and that the application is, at least in
part, moot because of the transfer.
[23]
It
is trite law that this Court does not have the power to award damages under s.
18.1 of the Federal Courts Act: Al-Mhamad v Canada (Radio-Television
and Telecommunications Commission), 2003 FCA 45 at para 3; and Canada
(Attorney General) v TeleZone Inc, 2010 SCC 62 at paras 51-52. As stated by
the Supreme Court at paragraphs 52 of TeleZone, the traditional
administrative law remedies listed in s. 18(1) (a) do not include an award of
damages. If a claimant seeks compensation, he or she cannot get it on judicial
review.
[24]
The
applicant submits that under the authority of TeleZone, above, he is
entitled to have this application converted to an action for damages. This is
not an appropriate case in which to convert the application to an action under
s. 18.4 (2) of the Federal Courts Act. No motion to
do so was brought before the Court and the parties have not had an opportunity
to prepare pleadings, obtain discovery and examine witnesses. The matter has
proceeded on the documentary record alone.
[25]
The
applicant has not presented any evidence or argument that would support a
finding that the Assistant Commissioner erred in his ruling that the claim for
compensation was outside the scope of the grievance procedure. For that reason,
I do not propose to deal with that aspect of the decision.
[26]
At
the hearing, Mr. Kim complained that his computer and disks had been seized
thereby making it difficult for him to prepare his oral submissions. The
respondent submitted the affidavit of a correctional security officer to
explain why the computer had been seized and to describe the efforts made to
ensure that Mr. Kim had access to another computer and to the files on his
disks.
[27]
In
considering whether there was any substance to this complaint, I noted that Mr.
Kim is not a stranger to litigation as he represented himself in the proceedings
that led to his conviction and sentencing, on numerous motions and appeals and
in other judicial review applications before this Court. I noted also that the respondent filed its record on September 15, 2011 and the applicant’s
computer was seized on February 9, 2012. He therefore had almost five months to
prepare his oral arguments and prepare to reply to the respondent’s arguments.
[28]
In
the result, I was satisfied that in this matter, Mr. Kim had access to the
documents he required to fully present his case. To ensure that he had a full
opportunity to comment on the relevance of authorities raised at the hearing by
the respondent, I allowed him to make additional post-hearing submissions in
writing when he had an opportunity to read the cases. The authorities in
question were recent decisions which were not relevant to any issue in this
matter and are not, therefore, addressed in these reasons.
[29]
What
remained to be determined on this application is the issue of the contested
information in the applicant’s record. I concluded that there continues to be a
live controversy about that information as it may be used by CSC in any future
security assessment respecting the applicant unless it is amended or removed.
RELEVANT LEGISLATION:
[30]
Section
24 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act 1992, SC 1992, c 20
reads as follows:
24.
(1) The
Service shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that any information about
an offender that it uses is as accurate, up to date and complete as possible.
(2)
Where an offender who has been given access to information by the Service
pursuant to subsection 23(2) believes that there is an error or omission
therein,
(a)
the offender may request the Service to correct that information; and
(b)
where the request is refused, the Service shall attach to the information a
notation indicating that the offender has requested a correction and setting
out the correction requested.
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24.
(1)
Le Service est tenu de veiller, dans la mesure du possible, à ce que les
renseignements qu’il utilise concernant les délinquants soient à jour, exacts
et complets.
(2)
Le délinquant qui croit que les renseignements auxquels il a eu accès en
vertu du paragraphe 23(2) sont erronés ou incomplets peut demander que le
Service en effectue la correction; lorsque la demande est refusée, le Service
doit faire mention des corrections qui ont été demandées mais non effectuées.
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[31]
Sections
17 and 18 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations,
SOR/92-620 state the following:
17.
The Service shall take the following factors into consideration in
determining the security classification to be assigned to an inmate pursuant
to section 30 of the Act:
(a)
the seriousness of the offence committed by the inmate;
(b)
any outstanding charges against the inmate;
(c)
the inmate's performance and behaviour while under sentence;
(d)
the inmate’s social, criminal and, if available, young-offender history and
any dangerous offender designation under the Criminal Code;
(e)
any physical or mental illness or disorder suffered by the inmate;
(f)
the inmate's potential for violent behaviour; and
(g)
the inmate's continued involvement in criminal activities.
18.
For the
purposes of section 30 of the Act, an inmate shall be classified as
(a)
maximum security where the inmate is assessed by the Service as
(i)
presenting a high probability of escape and a high risk to the safety of the
public in the event of escape, or
(ii)
requiring a high degree of supervision and control within the penitentiary;
(b)
medium security where the inmate is assessed by the Service as
(i)
presenting a low to moderate probability of escape and a moderate risk to the
safety of the public in the event of escape, or
(ii)
requiring a moderate degree of supervision and control within the
penitentiary; and
(c)
minimum security where the inmate is assessed by the Service as
(i)
presenting a low probability of escape and a low risk to the safety of the
public in the event of escape, and
(ii)
requiring a low degree of supervision and control within the penitentiary.
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17.
Le Service détermine la cote de sécurité à assigner à chaque détenu
conformément à l'article 30 de la Loi en tenant compte des facteurs suivants
:
a) la gravité de l'infraction
commise par le détenu;
b) toute accusation en instance
contre lui;
c) son rendement et sa conduite
pendant qu'il purge sa peine;
d) ses antécédents sociaux et
criminels, y compris ses antécédents comme jeune contrevenant s’ils sont
disponibles et le fait qu’il a été déclaré délinquant dangereux en
application du Code criminel;
e) toute maladie physique ou
mentale ou tout trouble mental dont il souffre;
f) sa propension à la violence;
g) son implication continue dans
des activités criminelles.
18.
Pour
l'application de l'article 30 de la Loi, le détenu reçoit, selon le cas :
a) la cote de sécurité maximale,
si l'évaluation du
Service montre que le détenu :
(i) soit présente un risque
élevé d'évasion et, en cas d'évasion, constituerait une grande menace pour la
sécurité du public,
(ii) soit exige un degré élevé
de surveillance et de contrôle à l'intérieur du pénitencier;
b) la cote de sécurité moyenne,
si l'évaluation du Service montre que le détenu :
(i) soit présente un risque
d'évasion de faible à moyen et, en cas d'évasion, constituerait une
menace moyenne pour la sécurité du public,
(ii) soit exige un degré moyen
de surveillance et de contrôle à l'intérieur du pénitencier;
c) la cote de sécurité minimale,
si l'évaluation du Service montre que le détenu :
(i) soit présente un faible
risque d'évasion et, en cas d'évasion, constituerait une faible menace pour
la sécurité du public,
(ii) soit exige un faible degré
de surveillance et de contrôle à l'intérieur du pénitencier.
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ANALYSIS:
Standard
of Review
[32]
As
a general rule, questions of natural justice or procedural fairness are to be
reviewed on the basis of the correctness standard of review: Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v Khosa, 2009 SCC 12 at para 43. This
applies equally in the context of reviews of decisions made in the offender
grievance process: Sweet v Canada (Attorney General), 2005 FCA 51 at
para 16.
[33]
The
standard of review for questions of fact and mixed fact and law arising under
the CCRA is reasonableness: Tehrankari v Canada (Correctional Services),
2001 FCT 845 at paras 15-16; Crawshaw v Canada (Attorney General), 2011
FC 133 at paras 24-27.
Timeliness of
the application
[34]
S.
18.1 (2) of the Federal Courts Act requires that an
application for judicial review in respect of a decision or an order of a
federal board, commission or other tribunal shall be made within 30 days after
the time the decision or order was first communicated to the party directly
affected by it, or within any further time that the judge of the Federal Court
may fix or allow before or after the expiration of those 30 days.
[35]
The
respondent submits that the applicant filed his application approximately 64
days after the decision on the third level grievance was made and communicated
to the applicant. The decision was rendered on February 21, 2011 and the
application for judicial review was served on the respondent on April 27, 2011.
The applicant has filed no motion requesting an extension of time and while he
is representing himself, he is familiar the Federal Court time limits having
litigated several other applications for judicial review. Thus, the respondent
argued, that extension of time should not be granted
[36]
In
response, the applicant contends that the decision was communicated to him on
March 21, 2011 as he states in the Notice of Application for Judicial Review
signed on March 24, 2011. The respondent has filed nothing to dispute the date
of communication. The Notice of Application was filed on April 19, 2011 and
served on the respondent on April 27, 2011.
[37]
Considering
that the applicant is an inmate under the control of the CSC and that it had
the means to both communicate the decision and record the date on which that
was done, the benefit of the doubt went to the applicant. I elected to grant an
extension of time in keeping with the principles set out in Jakutavicius v
Canada (Attorney General), 2004 FCA 289.
Mootness
[38]
The
respondent also objected to the matter proceeding on the ground that it is now
moot as the applicant has obtained the primary relief that he sought in his
grievance and through this application, that he be transferred to a medium
security institution.
[39]
Borowski
v Canada (Attorney General), [1989] 1 S.C.R. 342 establishes a two step analysis
to determine if a moot case should be heard by a court: (1) whether there
remains a live controversy; and (2) whether the Court should exercise its
discretion to hear the case. The Court should consider three factors to
determine if it should exercise its discretion: (a) whether the dispute retains
its adversarial nature; (b) judicial economy; and (c) whether special
circumstances warrant the use of scarce judicial resources.
[40]
The
respondent submits that since the applicant’s transfer to La Macaza
Institution, a medium-security facility, in March 2011, the main controversy
between the parties no longer exists. Since there is no live issue between the
parties, resolving the questions raised by the applicant would be a purely
academic exercise. Furthermore, the respondent contends, this case does not
deal with any novel issue in law or with an issue of particular importance to
the parties. Therefore the Court should not exercise its discretion to hear the
case.
[41]
The
applicant concedes that he was transferred to a medium security institution and
in that respect has achieved a significant part of what he set out to achieve
through the grievance. He contends that there continues to be a live
controversy because of the contentious material in his file relating to the
prior incidents which could be used against him in future decisions respecting
his security classification. He cites Bonamy v Canada (Attorney General),
2010 FC 153, a decision of Justice Mainville when he was a member of this
Court.
[42]
In
Bonamy, above, Justice Mainville found that the doctrine of
mootness did not apply in the context of an application for judicial review
where the applicant had benefited from a statutory release and was consequently
no longer in the penitentiary. In the particular circumstances of that case, an
application for declaratory relief with respect to the correctional grievance
process and direct access to the Federal Court for the review of correctional
decisions, Justice Mainville found that a live controversy continued to exist
between the parties and that the applicant remained subject to the procedure
notwithstanding that he had been released.
[43]
In
my view, the circumstances in Bonamy are not analogous to this matter.
In that case, the applicant represented a group of offenders who sought changes
to the grievance procedure. Moreover, the decision under review was in conflict
with an earlier grievance decision in which the applicant had been partially
successful and granted a remedy which was not implemented. Moreover, the
applicant claimed to have suffered adverse consequences from bringing the
grievances.
[44]
Here
the applicant has achieved most of what he sought to obtain through the
grievance procedure, namely reversal of the decision to overturn the
recommendation of his case management team that he be transferred to a medium
security institution. I note that he was in fact transferred before this
application was filed. In that respect, therefore, the controversy with respect
to the reclassification is moot and I see no point in exercising my discretion
to decide the merits of the application on that aspect of the Assistant
Commissioner’s decision.
Did the
Assistant Commissioner unreasonably dismiss the grievance with respect to the
contested information in the applicant’s institutional records?
[45]
The
Assistant Commissioner dismissed the part of the applicant’s grievance that
addressed the accuracy of the information in his file records because it had
not been raised at the first grievance level directly with the officer
responsible, IPO Mark Hare. The Assistant Commissioner concluded that he could
not bypass the normal grievance procedures. This was a reasonable conclusion,
in my view, and a complete answer to the applicant’s complaint. I think it
useful, however, to comment further on the applicant’s submissions should the
controversy arise again.
[46]
At
the hearing, the applicant confirmed that he was aware that he could have
brought a grievance against IPO Hare regarding the correctness of the
information in his file. He contends, however, that he had raised the issue
from the outset in his grievances against the Warden’s decisions and that it is
unfair to require him to initiate a separate grievance procedure. The
difficulty with that position is that the grievance procedure requires that
requests to correct information in the offender’s file be directed to the
official responsible for entering the information and maintaining the file. In
this case, that was IPO Hare and not the Warden.
[47]
The
applicant submits that in continuing to rely on the information about the
dismissed offences in deciding his security classification, the CSC has
effectively overruled the decisions of the Independent Chair Persons. This, he
submits, is contrary to s. 24 of the CCRA which requires that the Service take
all reasonable steps to ensure that any information about an offender that it
uses is as accurate, up to date and complete as possible. He relies on Tehrankari
v Canada (Correctional Services), [2000] FCJ No 495 at paragraph 55 [Tehrankari
(2000)].
[48]
The
stabbing incidents which led to the dismissed charges against the applicant are
referred to several times in the third level response. After describing the
charges and stating that they were dismissed, in the first case “due to
mitigating circumstances” and, in the second case because of the wrong
designation of the charge, the Assistant Commissioner stated the following:
Mr. Kim, although these two (2)
charges were dismissed by the Independent Chair Person (ICP), we must still
consider that both incidents are documented on the above-noted incident
reports. We must also consider that you admitted to carrying out one of these
assaults. As these incidents have a direct impact on the level of risk you
represent, they must be considered as part of the assessment of your security
classification.
[49]
Discussing
the applicant’s complaint that information relating to his periods in
segregation, including those in which he voluntarily entered segregation
because of threats from other inmates, was being used against him to keep his
Institutional Adjustment rating as high, the Assistant Commissioner referred to
the report dated January 14, 2010 by IPO Hare in which the stabbing incidents
are again mentioned.
[50]
In
Tehrankari 2000 Justice Lemieux dealt with a risk assessment decision by
the CSC where the offender denied certain allegations included in his
institutional files. He denied an assault allegation for which charges were
dismissed when the prison guard witnesses did not attend the hearing. The
offender also denied an allegation that he had attempted an escape from a
Canadian jail cell and contested references to his escape from Iran.
[51]
With
regard to the assault allegation in Tehrankari 2000, Justice Lemieux
stated the following at paragraph 55 of his reasons:
The OSLRDS report said the applicant assaulted another inmate. He
denies it. The applicant was charged and found not guilty. It matters little
the prison guard witnesses did not show up. In the circumstances, it is not
accurate to assert, as a fact, he assaulted the other inmate particularly when
regard is had to the reports of the prison guards who witnessed the incident.
At best, as the matter stands today, he was suspected of assaulting another
inmate. The Citizens' Advisory Committee recommended that this assault
information be removed from his file.
[52]
Mr.
Kim cites this paragraph as supporting his contention that it does not matter
how he was found not guilty. The dismissal of the charges is sufficient to
establish that the information underlying the charges is incorrect and should
not be included in his file, he contends. I note that in the paragraph
reproduced above Justice Lemieux found that it was not accurate to assert that
the assault in question occurred as a fact, “particularly when regard is had to
the reports of the prison guards who witnessed the incident.” That suggests
that on the strength of the information in the file the assault allegation
could not be substantiated.
[53]
Justice
Lemieux reached a similar conclusion with respect to an allegation that the
offender had attempted an escape. The assertion that hacksaw blades had been
found in the offender’s cell was not erroneous, rather it was the inference the
CSC had drawn from that fact that was not sustainable. At best he could have
been suspected of planning an escape: Tehrankari 2000, at paragraphs
56-61.
[54]
In
the present matter, applying the criminal law standard of proof beyond a
reasonable doubt, the Independent Chair Person dismissed the first charge
apparently on the ground that the applicant had stabbed the other inmate
because of a fear of imminent harm. The Assistant Commissioner’s choice of
words to describe the reason for the dismissal, “mitigating circumstances”, may
not have been precise but did not alter the essential facts reported by the
correctional official who observed the event. It is apparent that the
decision-maker was aware of the full circumstances including the applicant’s
claim of self-defence.
[55]
The
second charge was dismissed on a technical ground. The applicant does not deny
his involvement in that incident but asserts that the available evidence,
including a witness statement from a third inmate, would not have supported a
conviction even if the correct charge had been laid. Whether that is correct or
not is beyond the scope of this application. The fact remains that the
applicant’s file contains an incident report in which the other inmate accused
the applicant of rushing at and slashing him. The correctional officials could
not ignore that report.
[56]
Justice
Blais, as he then was, dealt with an analogous situation in Côté-Savard v Canada (Attorney General), 2006 FC 653. In that case, the applicant had grieved a
security reassessment which stemmed from the discovery of a bladed weapon in
his cell. A serious offence report was issued. The Independent Chair Person
ordered a stay of proceedings in the disciplinary court owing to excessive
delay. The Commissioner relied on the report notwithstanding the dismissal.
That was found by the Court to be reasonable.
[57]
I
agree with the following analysis of Justice Blais at paragraph 13 of Côte-Savard,
above:
…even
if the applicant had been acquitted, the authorities could still refer to the
discovery of a bladed weapon in the applicant’s cell as justification for
raising his security classification…the burden of proof in disciplinary matters
requires that the chair-person of the disciplinary tribunal be persuaded beyond
a reasonable doubt of the commission of the offence, which is not the case in
the context of such administrative measures as the review of a security
classification or an involuntary transfer.
[58]
This
Court is considering the reasonableness of the Assistant Commissioner’s
decision. It must decide if, considering the evidence before him, the
Commissioner could reasonably rely on the incident reports and on facts related
to the incident in dismissing the third level grievance. As the Assistant
Commissioner noted, it remained open to the applicant to bring a separate
grievance to correct the information in his file if it was in fact inaccurate.
[59]
In
carrying out this task, this Court owes a high degree of deference towards the
Assistant Commissioner due to his expertise in managing penitentiaries,
maintaining institutional security and evaluating inmates’ institutional
adjustment and other risk factors: Tehrankari (2000), at para 36; and Canada
(Attorney General) v Boucher, 2005 FCA 77 at para 16.
[60]
Imposing
a requirement that correctional officials could not rely on incident reports
when the resulting charges were dismissed would unduly burden the CSC in the
execution of its responsibility to determine the security placement of inmates.
Disciplinary hearings and security placement decisions are separate and
different processes and their respective objects, procedures, consequences and
evidentiary standards must be acknowledged and respected.
[61]
Considering
the expertise of the CSC, s. 17 of the Corrections and Conditional Release
Regulations, SOR/92-620, s. 24(1) of the CCRA, the above cited
jurisprudence, and the absence of clear legislative wording imposing a higher
standard, it is reasonable for the Service to rely on incident reports stating
facts related to a dismissed charge so long as the facts are reliable and as
accurate as possible considering the circumstances. If they are not accurate,
the inmate concerned may grieve the inclusion of the information in his or her
institutional records.
[62]
Accordingly,
the application is dismissed. As the applicant claims to be impecunious I see
no point in awarding costs in favour of the respondent.
JUDGMENT
THIS
COURT’S JUDGMENT is that the
application is dismissed. The parties shall bear their own costs.
“Richard
G. Mosley”