Bissonnette v. Canada
(Commissioner of Corrections)

(1996), 122 F.T.R. 166, [1996] F.C.J. No.1388 (F.C.T.D.)

    The applicant B, along with several other inmates, applied for judicial review of a decision of the Deputy Commissioner for Ontario to implement a new telephone system in federal penitentiaries within the province. The Warden of Frontenac Institution refused to approve the use of moneys from the Inmate Welfare Fund for the purpose of paying legal fees in the application for judicial review. In an April 1990 memorandum, the Commissioner interpreted the relevant Commissioner's Directive by asserting that moneys from the Inmate Welfare Fund cannot be utilized for the purpose of funding legal actions. Legal counsel for the CSC relied on this memorandum when she advised a colleague in January 1996 that it was not "legal under CSC policy for court challenges to be funded out of the Inmate Welfare Fund - with or without inmate consent." This legal advice was used to explain the Warden's refusal to authorize the use of the Inmate Welfare Fund for legal fees in this case. An application for judicial review of the Warden's decision was brought by B and another inmate, who were both also party to the application for judicial review of the Deputy Commissioner's decision.
    Lufty J. allowed the application, set aside the Warden's decision and directed the Warden to reconsider the recommendation to disburse moneys from the Inmate Welfare Fund for the legal fees in a manner consistent with the Court's reasons. Lufty J. found that the policy objective of the Inmate Welfare Fund is broad. In the words of the CD, the fund exists for the purpose of contributing to the inmates' general welfare within the institution. In allowing the application, the court held that CD must be read and implemented within the framework of the CCRA and Regulations. In this case, the request to use the Inmate Welfare Fund must be considered by the Warden within the context of the CSC's obligation to ensure that every inmate has reasonable access to legal counsel as set out in section 96(w) of the Regulations. The assertion by the Commissioner in his memorandum of April 30, 1990 that "monies from the Inmate Welfare Fund cannot be utilized for the purpose of legal actions" is, at the very least, too broad as a blanket statement in light of the current Regulations. Similarly, there is no indication in the memorandum prepared by the CSC's legal counsel in January 1996 that any consideration was given to subsection 97(3) of the Regulations in formulating her opinion that the Inmate Welfare Fund could not be used to pay legal fees for this court challenge.
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