Kitchener prison's 'cottages' not immune to problems, former inmates say

Most inmates at Kitchener’s Grand Valley Institution for Women never see the prison’s maximum security wing, but that doesn’t mean they’re particularly happy about the conditions in the rest of the facility.

Former inmates talk about easy access to drugs, overbearing guards and little of the mental health assistance many inmates desperately need.

Many of the 150 prisoners residing in minimum and medium security areas of the prison live in housing units known as “cottages”.

The cottages don’t have the bars or shackles of the maximum-security wing, but do come with their own problems – including overcrowding.

New units are being built to help deal with the problem, but currently, as many as 12 women can share one cottage.

Given the women have no say in their living conditions, says former prisoner Ann Hansen, issues are bound to crop out.

“You have a group of women living in a small area, and they didn’t choose to live together,” she tells CTV.

“Obviously you start getting fights and problems.”

Another former inmate – “Petey”, who cannot be named as she was a teen when she and her sister were convicted of drugging and drowning their mother – says substance issues are a major problem at the prison.

According to Petey, drugs meant to sedate prisoners often become a source of addiction for prisoners that continues even after the sentence is served.

“They’re just dependent on these medications that they can’t afford once they’re out,” she says.

Other drugs, not prescribed nor allowed in the prison, are often smuggled in by guards or employees, Petey says.

But not all prisoners fall victim to substance abuse.

The prison provides rehabilitation programs for inmates, helping them upgrade their education or learn job skills in an area like a hair salon or Corcan, an on-site factory for linens and textiles.

In exchange for working at Corcan, inmates receive up to $6.90 per day, which they use to purchase phone time, food and stamps.

Purchasing food is especially necessary because sharing it with a fellow inmate is a chargeable offence.

“If someone from a neighbouring living unit or quote-unquote cottage doesn’t have a cup of flour and you give them a cup of flour, you get thrown into the hole or into segregation,” says Petey.

That’s not the biggest problem at Grand Valley, Petey says – the biggest problem, in her estimation, is a lack of oversight.

“Canadians are told there is a complaint process in the prison, ‘If anything happens, you can just fill out a form,’” she tells CTV.

“It’s bogus. The women are punished for filing grievances.”

While at Grand Valley, Petey says she filed a grievance against a guard to told her to “get (her) Indian shit out of here.”

She says the guard sent to deal with the grievance was the same one who Petey had filed the grievance against; the guard didn’t remember saying anything and the grievance was judged to have been “informally resolved.”

Amy Reier chairs the board of the Waterloo Region Elizabeth Fry Society. She’s represented many women charged with internal offences at the prison, and says she’s seen recent changes for the better in how the prison deals with internal infractions – but there’s still a way to go.

“You’re very much subject to red tape, guard’s discretion,” she says.

Interview requests were sent to the Grand Valley Institution for Women and the union representing guards at the prison, but both organizations declined to be interviewed.

Abigail Bimman’s five-part investigation into Grand Valley Institution for Women is airing this week on CTV News.