Using Section 7 of the Charter to Challenge Prison Conditions – Adelina Iftene

11am MST, Friday, 20 October 2023

In this seminar, drawing upon her empirical work with incarcerated people, as well as on the relevant s. 7 jurisprudence and scholarship, Dr. Adelina Iftene will explore the ways in which s. 7 of the Charter may be used as a litigation tool in challenging prison conditions of confinement. The presentation will cover some social science evidence documenting the inadequacies of conditions and treatment in federal and provincial prisons, their impact on incarcerated people, the potential sources of a s. 7 breach in this context, and how various principles of fundamental justice may be engaged. Some s. 1 issues will also be covered in the presentation. The presentation will be example-heavy, with focus especially on inadequate prison health care.

Dr. Adelina Iftene is an Assistant Professor and the Criminal Justice Specialization Coordinator at Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, as well as the Associate Director of the Health Law Institute at Dalhousie. Adelina teaches and conducts research in the areas of criminal law, evidence, sentencing and imprisonment and prison policy. Her book “Punished for Aging: Vulnerabilities, Rights, and Access to Justice in Canadian Penitentiaries,” was published by University of Toronto Press in 2019. She is also the co-author of the Annual Review of Criminal Law (Thomson Reuters).