Inmates sue province over treatment during riot
A group of inmates is suing the province over a riot at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre back in 2015.
In a statement of claim filed last month at Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench, the group says the May 2015 riot broke out after guards began antagonizing inmates on two blocks of the correctional centre’s remand unit. They allege they were denied exercise time and that guards were verbally abusive and unprofessional.
The inmates claim they were locked in their cells as angry rioters started fires by putting books inside ovens and toasters, then lighting up anything else they could find. The inmates say they were panicking as black smoke filled their cells, and that guards didn’t respond to their cries for help.
They then allege that after the riot, they were forced to hand over anything in their cells that might burn — including clothes and blankets. They say they then waited six days before they got to shower, or change out of soot-stained, wet clothing they had on at the time of the riot.