Too Few to Matter: Institutional Inertia in the Prisoning of Women in Québec and Canada

A reflection on the historical treatment of incarcerated women in Canada.

In 2010, Correctional Service Canada closed two decrepit prisons designated for men. Hoping to reduce prison overcrowding, the Québec government rented one of them--the Leclerc prison--and transferred approximately 250 male prisoners serving a provincial sentence. One year later, Québec closed its main provincial prison designated for women and swiftly transferred the women to the Leclerc prison where men were housed. At Leclerc, women endured dehumanizing conditions condemned by scholars, advocacy groups, and the media as violations of basic human rights. The challenging living conditions at the Leclerc prison suggest that women's imprisonment resists significant change despite studies and governmental inquiries since the middle of the nineteenth century documenting the dire situation, and the specific needs of imprisoned women in Canada. This book proposes a critical rereading of women's penal history in Canada and argues that policies and practices regarding women's prisoning are path-dependent and tend to follow a locked-in trajectory.