Saskatchewan Penitentiary. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Public safety

Former Sask. Pen staff member part of class action lawsuit alleging culture of racism at work

Jan 27, 2021 | 5:00 PM

A woman from Wahpeton Dakota Nation is one of two people mentioned in a federal class action lawsuit, that alleges former correctional officers, employed by the Correctional Service of Canada, were exposed to systemic racism by their co-workers that caused deep emotional scarring.

Jennifer Sanderson, 45, worked at Saskatchewan Penitentiary from June 2009 to June 30, 2017. According to court documents submitted to the federal court, Sanderson’s time with the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) was allegedly marred by repeated and persistent racist episodes and a culture of racism.

The statement of claim alleges one of the remarks directed to her was “why don’t you wear feathers to work?” In a separate incident, a co-worker allegedly declared it was shirtless Sunday, only to be corrected by a superior officer who said “no, it’s Residential School Sunday at the prison today.”

Sanderson told paNOW she felt targeted at her place of work where there is supposed to be zero tolerance for racial discrimination.

“It affected me mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. It still does today. It’s the whole process how it was handled. So many failures,” she said.

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“We want to see the claimants compensated” _{– Lawyer Aden Klein}

Sanderson claims she left the institution with mental harm and to this day questions why she was never offered supports — even when she reported the incidents to the channels above.

“I lost my career, my ability to feel that what I had to say was supposed to matter and be taken seriously. I was made to feel that whatever it was that happened couldn’t be dealt with properly,” she said. “I was basically left to deal with it or forget about it.”

Sanderson explained she was approached about the lawsuit by the co-plaintiff who lives in Edmonton. When asked about what result might help her move forward, Sanderson replied she simply wants closure and acknowledgement that the policies designed by the CSC to protect employees were not being followed.

“People say it’s a prison, you should expect to work in a place like that and get that kind of treatment. No, that is not OK to say those kinds of things because what examples are we setting up for our future generations,” she said.

Aden Klein is among the lawyers representing the complainants and plans to seek monetary compensation, but told paNOW he could not provide an exact figure at this stage of the proceedings.

“We handled two other class actions for gender discrimination against the RCMP. Each of those settled for $100 million [each],” he said. He added it was unclear though if the CSC case was similar.

“We are hoping for a large amount. We want to see the claimants compensated,” he said.

Klein said there are two main categories of damages: one is the emotional trauma incurred and the other is financial due to lost wages from early retirement.

“It seems that a lot of racialized individuals that worked for the CSC were not considered for promotions, despite being highly qualified,” Klein said.

The case will be heard by the Federal Court but neither a location nor a date has been confirmed. The class action is intended to include all racialized individuals who are or were staff members under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

Sanderson’s allegations along with those in the filed statement of claim remain unproven and have not been tested before the courts.

Response from Corrections Canada

According to a statement provided to paNOW by Correctional Service Canada, administrators are aware of the proposed class action lawsuit alleging discriminatory treatment of its employees.

“As this matter is before the courts, it would be inappropriate for CSC to further comment on the lawsuit and its allegations,” the statement indicated.

Corrections Canada did however explain racism and discrimination have absolutely no place in our society, inside or outside of CSC.

“CSC does not tolerate these behaviours and is committed to providing a workplace that is healthy, supportive and free of harassment and discrimination. Fostering a work environment that is safe and inclusive for everyone is our top priority,” the CSC said.

The CSC also indicated it took concrete actions including the implementation of a national, comprehensive, and integrated workplace wellness and employee well-being strategy last fall and strengthened its process for identifying and addressing complaints pertaining to harassment, discrimination and violence.

One example provided was the implementation last July of a joint working group with the Parole Board of Canada, to look at diversity and racism within the federal corrections and conditional release system.

“This group completed a review of our current policies and programs that address the unique needs of racialized offenders, as well as those aimed at increasing the diversity of our employees. Their review took into consideration existing studies on the issue of over-representation of Black Canadians and Indigenous people in the criminal justice system, including recommendations from the Parliamentary Black Caucus,” the CSC said.

The CSC said it plans to build on this work, and is in the process of developing an anti-racism framework and action plan which will involve consultation with stakeholders, and Indigenous and Ethnocultural groups.

—

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell