At Whitehorse Correctional, inmates face unscheduled lockdowns more days than not

So obviously we can't go past this, we don't have access, but right now there are inmates in this correctional facility that are being locked inside their cells almost every other day and they're not even being told why. Inmates at WCC are supposed to get 13 hours of unlocked time on weekdays. That's to access phones, showers, outdoors, common areas, but we recently learned that some inmates are having that time cut by up to 80 hours in a month. These unscheduled lockdowns add up to hundreds of extra hours spent in a cell. Now, the Department of Justice says these lockdowns are happening for operational requirements. That's things like security system upgrades, communications failures, security incidents, and staffing shortages. But I reached out to two lawyers and they told me it's not really clear anymore why these lockdowns are being used so often and that it's impacting inmates' mental health and their access to justice. Here's what's interesting. The Yukon's Correction Act strictly limits how solitary confinement or segregation can be used. But if inmates are locked down for security or medical reasons, the law doesn't count it as segregation at all. And when it comes to staffing shortages, the legislation is silent on that.