Federal Court orders Alberta prison to act on complaints about extreme heat
The court said Correctional Service Canada has not kept written temperature records and must seek approval for cooling measures after 20 years of complaints.
- On July 20, 2026, The Federal Court ordered an Alberta prison to seek authorization to install air conditioning in the Secure unit of the Edmonton Institution for Women, addressing heat complaints spanning two decades.
- Justice Meaghan Conroy wrote in a July 16 decision that Correctional Service Canada has known of design problems in Secure since 2012, causing temperatures to exceed 40 C in some cells.
- Despite claims of routine monitoring, Conroy wrote that the agency 'keeps no written records of its temperature readings,' directing Correctional Service Canada to begin recording readings in Secure.
- Separately, the Canadian Human Rights Commission referred a complaint by the John Howard Society of Canada to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, challenging treatment of vulnerable older and disabled prisoners.
- Commissioner Sasha Kiran Cragg-Gore wrote that the case could set a precedent for how federal institutions 'adapt operational standards to safeguard the health and dignity of those in custody' amid climate change.
30 Articles
30 Articles
Justice Meaghan Conroy orders prison to install air conditioning after decades of extreme heat complaints
Subhead:The unsafe temperatures inside one unit at the Edmonton Institution for Women has caused "panic attacks, psychological distress, and sleep deprivation," according to Justice Meaghan Conroy.# A Federal Court judge has ordered Correctional Service Canada to begin the process of installing air conditioning in a secure unit at the Edmonton Institution for Women, ruling that prison officials failed to adequately address extreme heat despite…
Federal court orders Edmonton women's prison to address history of extreme heat complaints
Correctional Service Canada has failed to put an effective solution in place at the Edmonton Institution for Women's secure unit, the federal court says, noting an affidavit showed one cell exceeded 40 C in 2018.
The Chronicle-Journal
Court orders Alberta prison to take steps to protect inmates from extreme heat
OTTAWA - As the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal prepares to hear a separate case about extreme heat in prisons, the Federal Court has directed an Alberta prison to take steps to install air conditioning to protect inmates.
The Toronto Star
Federal Court orders Alberta prison to act on complaints about extreme heat
OTTAWA - The Federal Court has directed an Alberta prison to take steps to install air conditioning in response to complaints about extreme heat that go back two decades.
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