Thursday, August 26, 8:30 a.m. - The Morning Briefing

On Thursday, August 26, I attended the morning briefing. The first issue raised was that two prisoners now alleged they had been subject to excessive force while being taken to segregation after the assault on Mike Boileau. Acting Deputy Warden Richmond reported that he had spoken to the two prisoners. The first, Mr. Barry, admitted that he had mouthed off at the guards and probably deserved what had happened to him, and he did not wish to lay charges against the officers or have the police involved. The second prisoner, Mr. Badari, said that he did want to lay charges; he had asked to talk to someone at Prisoners' Legal Services but had been told by the officer on duty in segregation that he could phone the next day. Mr. Richmond told Mr. Badari that he could phone right then and there. This gave rise to a direction by Warden Brock that he did not want anyone in segregation who asked to contact a lawyer to be told to wait until the next day; they were to be given telephone access immediately, because the institution would be "raked over the coals" if they denied access to lawyers. Warden Brock stated that he ran "an open show" and wanted the institution itself to contact the RCMP and let them interview the two prisoners; in the long run it was in the best interests of the institution to show that they had nothing to hide. In relation to the Badari allegations, the warden said he understood that Mr. Badari was videotaped while being taken up to segregation and therefore the tape would be important evidence. He was advised, however, that the staff member operating the video camera was inexperienced and there had been no film in the camera. Warden Brock became visibly upset and asked if anyone remembered what had happened to Richard Nixon.

The tracking meeting to identify the troublemakers in Matsqui was scheduled for 1:30 that afternoon, and all available staff were encouraged to attend. The warden, in characterizing his strategy, said that while there was a need to maintain balance and the prisoners had to feel that they were being dealt with fairly, decisions necessary to maintain control in the institution must be taken.

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