A constitutional challenge to the federal government’s refusal to provide clean needles in prisons is set to be heard by an Ontario court this week. The Correctional Service has, however, recently launched a program that offers inmates in some facilities access to sterile equipment. Applicants in the court challenge are also expected to argue that the program nonetheless infringes on prisoners’ rights by depriving them of confidentiality, among other issues. Those who are denied have no alternative access to sterile equipment, meaning they are forced to reuse what they have, the group says. He says another prisoner used his injection materials, and that they had no access to sterile equipment.

Source: thestar December 08, 2019 17:03 UTC