Nova Scotia’s review of jail deaths is ‘ad hoc’, in need of reform:minister
HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s health minister says the lack of health information included in a review of a jailhouse death shows the province’s oversight system is both “ad hoc” and in need of reform, but he isn’t being precise about possible remedies.
“This is the time for us to take a look at a plan for the future,” Leo Glavine said Thursday after cabinet, responding to questions about the Jan. 31 overdose death of Jason LeBlanc at the Cape Breton Correctional Facility.
A police report obtained by The Canadian Press says the 42-year-old labourer appeared intoxicated and told a nurse he had taken five “nerve pill(s)” but was nonetheless returned to a prison cell rather than being sent to a hospital for observation.
The report says the 42-year-old labourer was seen twice by health staff at the Cape Breton Correctional Facility before he was placed in a cell where he fell asleep and died from a combination of methadone ingested before his arrest and bromazepam pills he smuggled in.