Mother of inmate killed in Prince Albert prison sues Correctional Service Canada

The mother of a man who was killed inside a prison in Prince Albert, Sask., in June has filed a lawsuit against the Correctional Service of Canada for negligence.

Christopher Van Camp was 37 when he died at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary. Another inmate, Tyler Vandewater, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with Van Camp's death.

The lawsuit alleges the Saskatchewan Penitentiary failed to meet the required standard of care for Van Camp.

None of the allegations has been proven in court.

Arrested in hospital

According to the statement of claim, Van Camp battled drug addiction for most of his life, including while he was incarcerated.

Two weeks before his death, Van Camp had been on parole in Calgary when he overdosed on cocaine laced with fentanyl. He was in a coma for four days.

Court documents say that when he awoke, he was disoriented and hospital staff "medically paralyzed" himfor his protection.

Since one of the conditions of his parole was that he abstain from drugs, he was arrested the day after he awoke. A few days later, he was back in custody at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary.

Then, the Friday before he was killed, Van Camp apparently called his mother and told her he was feeling unwell and had no strength.

The lawsuit alleges the penitentiary failed to protect the "medically vulnerable" Van Camp from his fellow inmates, and knowingly placed him near "one of the facility's most volatile and violent inmates."

It accuses the Correctional Service of Canada of having inadequate security protocols, inadequate staff and insufficiently trained staff to prevent the assault that allegedly killed Van Camp.

It says no corrections officers intervened during the incident.

Access to drugs

The lawsuit also alleges Van Camp was able to obtain drugs while previously at the prison and that continued to fuelhis addiction. It says the Correctional Service of Canada "either facilitated or was willfully blind to Mr. Van Camp's continuing substance abuse problems while he was serving his sentence."

"Consequently, when Mr. Van Camp was released on parole he still suffered from an extreme addiction and was virtually certain to relapse," says the statement of claim.

The suit asks for damages for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of Van Camp's charter rights to life and security of the person.

The Correctional Service of Canada has not yet filed a statement of defence. In an emailed statement, it simply said it is reviewing the claim.

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