Hold Correctional Service Canada Accountable for the Impact on Indigenous Children

## Why We Continue to Speak Out

“In the legal response filed on behalf of Correctional Service Canada, our seven-year-old Indigenous daughter’s human rights complaint was characterized as ‘trivial’ and ‘frivolous.’”

Our family's journey did not begin with a single event. It began after we spoke out about what we believed to be systemic racism and unequal treatment within a Correctional Service Canada Indigenous Healing Unit in 2022.

Shortly after, our family experienced a series of events that changed our lives.

Our daughter's father was transferred to Kent Institution, where he was later stabbed by multiple inmates, leaving him with permanent injuries. Those events ultimately resulted in a successful habeas corpus application, with the Court ordering that he be returned to a lower security institution because his loss of liberty was found to be unlawful.

Despite that court victory, our family believes the hardships did not end.

Over the years, we experienced repeated family separation through institutional transfers, restrictions, and prolonged disruptions to our communication. An independent investigation by Canada Post concluded that Canada Post was not responsible for the missing mail that repeatedly failed to reach our family. This left many unanswered questions after years of letters disappearing, including correspondence during birthdays, Christmases, and other important family occasions.

These interruptions carried a heavy emotional cost. Holidays and birthdays became periods of uncertainty instead of connection. We believe decisions affecting our family have too often occurred around significant family milestones. Most recently, our daughter's father was transferred to a maximum-security institution only days after her seventh birthday, creating yet another painful separation.

Our most recent visit was conducted as a screened visit, with glass separating our family. For a young child, the experience was deeply distressing. She later described feeling as though she had been locked inside a cell herself. No child should have to experience that simply to spend time with a parent.

The greatest impact of these events has not been on us as parents—it has been on our children.

They have lived through repeated separations, uncertainty, missed celebrations, interrupted family contact, and the emotional consequences of decisions entirely outside their control.

This is why we continue to advocate.

Our efforts are not driven by anger. They are driven by our responsibility as parents to protect our children, to seek accountability where appropriate, and to work toward a system that places the well-being of children and families at the centre of its decisions.

We believe no family should experience unnecessary separation, and no Indigenous child should bear the lasting emotional consequences of systemic failures.