B.C. settles prison solitary confinement lawsuit for $60 million

VANCOUVER – The British Columbia government has settled a class-action lawsuit for up to $60 million over the use of solitary confinement in provincial correctional facilities over a period of 20 years. 

The B.C. Supreme Court approved the settlement in October and the claims period for a piece of the money began this month, more than seven years after the lawsuit was filed against the province over correctional institutions’ use of segregation. 

The lawsuit alleged the practice amounted to “cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.”

Plaintiff Neveah North, formerly known as Cody Cragg, had been placed in segregation at times while incarcerated at the Prince George Regional Correctional Centre from April 2014 to May 2018.

The claim alleged “systemic mistreatment” of inmates, including torture in some cases, when they were placed in solitary confinement. 

The institutions listed in the settlement agreement include the Alouette Correctional Centre for Women, the Fraser, Kamloops, Prince George and Vancouver Island regional correctional centres, North Fraser Pretrial Centre, Surrey Pretrial Services Centre and the Ford Mountain, Nanaimo and Okanagan correctional centres.

The settlement includes $30 million for a “common experience fund” and $25 million for a “serious harms fund,” which will be bumped up by $5 million if there are more than 2,500 eligible claims made for serious harms. 

The agreement also includes a section dedicated to reforming segregation practices in order to “to work toward improvements on the conditions of separate confinement.” 

Lawyers for the class and the government also agreed to meet every three months for the next two years to go over policy reforms as part of the settlement, including for inmates to have “meaningful and constitutionally compliant time out of cell” for those removed from general prison populations.

The agreement also calls for improving screening mechanisms for prisoners with serious mental illnesses.

The parties are also obligated to file a report to the court in two years outlining any reforms that have been implemented by BC Corrections, the settlement says.

Claims documents posted online say the class includes anyone who served time in a B.C. jail and spent 15 or more consecutive days in segregation, as well as inmates with mental illnesses held in solitary confinement between April 2005 and October 2025.

A legal notice for the settlement in the case says eligible class members could receive up to $91,000 if they submit a claim by Jan. 11, 2027. 

Up to $85,000 is available for those who suffered serious harms, while a separate portion of the settlement could result in further payouts of up to $3,000 for those subjected to “prolonged” confinement or $6,000 for those with serious mental illnesses.

The notice says serious harms include new diagnoses of a mental illness within 90 days of being placed in solitary confinement, self-injury during a placement in segregation, or a suicide attempt during or within 60 days of being segregated. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2026.