Brandon Correctional Centre facing accusations of racial discrimination

A previous inmate at the Brandon Correctional Centre, says he experienced racism and the alleged discrimination is one of the numerous issues at the facility.

Clayton Marcano is currently at Milner Ridge Correctional Centre and he says staff at the facility are ready and willing to help but argues this type of support was totally absent at Brandon Correctional, leaving him frustrated and stressed.

Now, he’s speaking out to make sure no one is subjected to what he claims was blatant racism.

“Out of all of the years since I’ve been in doing time, I’ve never had a correctional staff talk to me like that,” Explained Marcano. “I’ve witnessed the devaluing of people there, on several occasions.”

He openly admits there was tension before the alleged racist remarks were made. Marcano had raised concerns over the food served, due to a gluten and pork intolerance, but says his dietary needs were ignored. As a result, tensions grew to a point where he stopped communication and squirted water at one of the correctional officers.

“I said: ‘leave me alone’, ‘go away.’ And then he said something to me. He’s like: ‘Listen here you monkey.’ And then: ‘You baboon.’ And then, I was covering my window and I was flipping out and he’s like: ‘We’re coming for you n-word. We’re coming’,” he explained.

Marcano has been in and out of the corrections system his entire adult life and says what he went through at the Brandon Correctional Centre was a first. He says correctional officers should be trained and thoroughly screened to ensure they don’t have racist beliefs, saying even months later, the situation still causes him pain.

“They have all the tools in their toolbox to do that kind of stuff. Or maybe the government should consider hiring people that are not bringing their problems to work, because I don’t even know what to say, because I was so frustrated at that and I’m still frustrated.”

Marcano says his experience at Milner Ridge has so far been positive and says it’s concerning to him the inconsistencies between the facilities, saying here he actually feels like he’s getting help and being supported.

“They’re tolerant. The tolerance level the guards here have is phenomenal for what they have to deal with. They come in every single day, they do their job. It’s just one of the best places I’ve ever done time.”

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Marcano is calling for a full service and staff audit of the Brandon Correctional Centre to find out if the facility is properly-suited for its use.

He says there’s also a need for better, permanent integration between support services, like John Howard Society and the Manitoba Human Rights Commission inside, so inmates can feel like their concerns are being addressed.

CityNews requested an interview with the union that represents correctional workers at BCC, but a statement was provided instead.

“Correctional Officers are trained professionals and take their jobs seriously. They understand very well that their own health and safety and that of their fellow officers is better served when inmates are treated with respect and their health and safety is also taken seriously,” read the statement.

Under Manitoba law, correctional institutions are supposed to respect the “special circumstances and needs of the offenders.”

“These are extremely concerning allegations and really, very disturbing reports of what’s going inside of these institutions,” said Abby Deshman, Director of the Criminal Justice Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Deshman says the allegations must be independently examined. “We know that people who are imprisoned are at risk of all kinds of abuses and we have had so many documented reports of really poor treatment in Canada’s prisons and jails, including systemic racism that runs through many of these correctional systems.”

She says it’s problematic behaviour like Marcano’s experience that jeopardizes an inmate’s rehabilitation.

“This type of racist commentary is absolutely dehumanizing. It does nothing to rehabilitate people or to further our public safety.”

The government declined an interview request to speak with a representative from corrections. And in response to questions surrounding proper diversity and inclusion training, they said Correctional officers receive significant training including all training required for staff in Manitoba’s Public Service, but failed to provide any specifics.