PENITENTIARIES |
Soper v. Canada (Attorney General)
T-1828-03
2004 FC 1457, Rouleau J.
22/10/04
11 pp.
Judicial review of Mission Institution Visitor Review Board (VRB) decision suspending applicant's visiting privileges for six months--Applicant outreach worker who attended "open house" visitation at Institution--Detector dog alerted officer applicant possibly in possession of illegal drugs--Applicant informed privileges suspended until VRB could review situation--Applicant proceeding to remove clothes, request strip search, thus creating disturbance--Later that day, applicant informed privileges suspended pending VRB hearing--After receiving written representations, VRB suspending applicant's privileges for six months--Not unreasonable for VRB to suspend applicant's visits on day of incident--Correctional Service Canada (CSC) officer not obligated to conduct strip search on request--CSC obligated only to inform applicant of reasons for refusal, provide opportunity to make representations--Applicant's visiting privileges fully restored January 14, 2004--Issue now moot--Court exercising discretion to consider substance of application in light of manner in which VRB treated applicant--CSC took 98 days to reply to applicant's request for copies of reports of officers who attended her at "open house", and replied only after applicant wrote to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, despite fact applicant had written to CSC's "Access to Information and Privacy Department" earlier--Privacy Commissioner wrote to applicant, confirmed 30-day time limit to respond to information request, set out in Privacy Act, s. 14, not met, complaint well-founded--Applicant's request for hearing by conference call unanswered, matter adjourned without applicant being notified--Submissions before VRB never provided to applicant--Applicant never given opportunity to contest, comment on officers' statements, observation reports before VRB--Concern expressed with manner CSC handled review--VRB violated duty to act fairly--As applicant not solicitor Court limited to awarding estimate of expenses incurred, fixed at $500--Privacy Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. P-21, s. 14.