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The largest inquest into deaths at London’s jail is set to begin in a month or two.
The inquest into the deaths of eight Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC) inmates is tentatively scheduled to begin this fall and will be virtual, a spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario said.
“We hope to highlight the lack of programming or any kind of rehabilitative function of the Ministry of the Solicitor General, and the fact that jails are overcrowded and understaffed,” said lawyer Kevin Egan, who is representing the families of all but one of the inmates.
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“I know we’re going to touch on absenteeism as well and the root cause of correctional officers’ high rates of absenteeism,” said Egan, who expects the inquest to last six weeks.
The inquest may also look at how to better prevent drugs from being smuggled into the jail, he said.
“That remains an issue, how the drugs are getting in. It’s entirely possible with better training and more resources, drug consumption would be observed and corrective action taken,” Egan said.
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Some inquests into EMDC deaths have revealed a lack of staff attention at times to obvious signs of drug use and exchanges of drugs.
Coroner’s inquests are called to determine how someone died, and the juries may make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths.
In the past, the inquests have mostly focused on one death, but lately Ontario’s coroner’s office has grouped together several deaths to be examined at once.
That has advantages and potential disadvantages, Egan said.
“The advantage of having an inquest on similar facts is that it illustrates better for the jury the systemic problems, that the death is not a one-off but part of a systemic issue,” he said.
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“There’s a huge backlog with the coroner’s office so it serves the purpose of reducing the backlog,” Egan added.
But during the weeks of lawyers questioning different witnesses, the individual human stories behind those who died can be lost, he said.
“There will be a little bit less focus on the circumstances of the individual deaths. That’s a big concern for me,” Egan said.
“There’s a cathartic effect of having the circumstances of an individual’s death revealed in the inquest because so many of these families have been living in the dark for years not knowing exactly what happened.”
The families to which he’s spoken accept the way this inquest has been set up.
“They see the pros and cons and are at least hopeful they’ll get some answers,” Egan said.
Previous inquests into EMDC deaths have revealed gaps in training of staff and shortfalls in health care and supervision. The province has followed some recommendations and improved some areas, but problems continue.
The next inquest will examine the deaths of:
- Raymond Major, 52, who died June 6, 2017
- Ronald Jenkins, 49, who died Dec. 9, 2017
- Justin Struthers, 29, who died Dec. 26, 2017
- James Pigeau, 32, who died Jan. 7, 2018
- Sean Tourand-Brightman, 33, who died March 31, 2019
- Chase Blanchard, 29, who died on June 21, 2019
- Malcom Ripley, 41, who died Nov. 25, 2020
- Clayton Bissonnette, 61, who died March 24, 2021
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