Queen’s Park – During Question Period today, Oshawa MPP and NDP Correctional Services Critic, Jennifer French, demanded the Wynne government explain why Ontarians are being denied their right to justice within a reasonable time.
MPP French’s question follows reports that Adam Capay, a 23 year old inmate in Thunder Bay, has waited 52 months for a trial while in isolation.
“Adam Capay has been held in solitary confinement for the past four years,” said French. “Worst of all, it is for a crime for which he has not yet been convicted.”
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees all Canadians the right to be tried within a reasonable time.
“The Supreme Court of Canada has deemed ‘a reasonable delay’ to be no more than 30 months,” noted French. “Adam Capay has waited nearly twice that long.”
“This is our justice system.”
Following MPP French’s question yesterday, the Minister for Community Safety and Correctional Services has advised that Mr. Capay has since been moved to improved conditions.
The Attorney General refused to guarantee whether anyone else in the province has also been denied this right.