Faith Eagle says she knows all about the Pine Grove jail located on the outskirts of Prince Albert, Sask.
“I noticed the water was disgusting – it tasted like sewer,” said the former inmate. “It looked like there was oil, you know, when oil and water meet; you could see the residue on it.”
Eagle’s daughter is currently in Pine Grove and on a hunger strike to demand better conditions and health care.
“They’re overlooked big time,” she alleged, noting inmates are told, ‘Oh, you’re faking it.’
“Nobody’s faking when they’re sick,” Eagle told APTN News. “They just want to get help. They want to get the proper medical treatment.”
Eagle says she’s witnessed women defecate in common areas and receive inadequate medical care, cultural support and drinking water.
Current inmates began a hunger strike on Aug. 2, she added, noting they hope this sparks changes that previous hunger strikes haven’t.
The jail was in the news recently after Saskatchewan’s ombudsman put out a request for former inmates to contact his office to discuss complaints about living conditions and alleged mistreatment by staff.
According to Eagle, those on a hunger strike have no end date in mind.
