Training Indigenous Doulas “An Act of Reconciliation”

April 4, 2019.
Interviewer Emma Smith.
Training Indigenous Doulas “An Act of Reconciliation”.
CBC.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mi-kmaq-child-development-centre-doula-training-indigenous-women-certification-1.5083389

“So maybe some people will become professionals and maybe some people will support other women at the Mi’kmaq Child Development Centre, and maybe some people will volunteer with us in the prisons and jails … all is valuable,”
Martha Paynter

Eleven premature deaths in Nova Scotia in Just Seven Years.

March 12, 2019. Interviewer Robert Devet.
Eleven premature deaths in Nova Scotia in Just Seven Years.
Nova Scotia Advocate

“Solitary confinement is so profoundly dangerous. We see many of these deaths occurring when someone is left alone. We need to put all emphasis on the abolishment of solitary confinement of anyone with a mental or physical illness or pregnancy,” says Paynter.
Martha Paynter

Mi’kmaw man says poor treatment he received at the PEI Correctional Facility left him hospitalized and in fear of his life

December 8, 2018.
Interviewer El Jones.
Mi’kmaw man says poor treatment he received at the PEI Correctional Facility left him hospitalized and in fear of his life. The Halifax Examiner. https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca

I understand this man was being held in segregation. The Mandela Rules are clear — no one experiencing physical or mental illness should be held in segregation. It is dehumanizing and clinically harmful.
He was remanded. Although approximately two-thirds of prisoners in Canada are on remand, it should be a last resort. Remand places untried and unconvicted people at risk of the harms of incarceration, one of which is exposure to infectious disease.
The prioritization of “security” over health translates into a lack of access to hygiene products to prevent infection, and delays in recognizing illness and accessing treatment.

The lack of health care for women in Nova Scotia prisons

November 21, 2018. Interviewer Rebecca Hussman. The Nova Scotia Advocate. https://nsadvocate.org/2018/11/21/women-and-the-right-to-health-care-in-nova-scotia-prisons/

“One of the things I’ve looked at is how some countries have come up with policies and legislation so that pregnant people and mothers of children under the age of 12 are never remanded, because it is so disruptive, and the chances of it serving the greater good are so slim, because most women are incarcerated for non-violent crimes related to economic survival,”