Questions arise over blanket policy at OPP detachment

A Mishkeegogamang elected official is questioning the Ontario Provincial Police policy against providing blankets in the Pickle Lake OPP jail cells.
“If you ask (jailed community members) if they received blankets when they asked for it, the answer is overwhelmingly no,” said Mishkeegogamang Coun. Tom Wassaykeesic. “The OPP is trying to say it is on a case-by-case basis, that is not true at all.”
Wassaykeesic has been trying to get the OPP to provide community members with blankets while in jail because they often complain after getting out of jail that they woke up cold during the night and were not provided with a blanket even after requesting one.
OPP Sgt. Shelley Garr said the OPP has a policy to provide blankets on a case-by-case basis throughout the whole province according to a long list of official recommendations on the issue.
“The issuing of blankets is determined on a case-by-case basis,” Garr said. “It has to do with security and safety concerns.”
Garr said if there are no safety or security issues concerning an individual, they would be issued a blanket while in the OPP jail cell.
“I can’t respond to specifically what he (Wassaykeesic) is asking,” Garr said, explaining she could not respond to specific cases. “It’s all to ensure the safety and security of the prisoners.”
Wassaykeesic said he has written to former OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino and Amnesty International about the community’s concerns.
“We don’t like seeing our people treated that way,” Wassaykeesic said. “I think if people we aware of it, the public, the OPP would change their mind.”
Wassaykeesic said people are offered dry clothing if their clothes are wet or damp when entering the Pickle Lake jail cell.
Mishkeegogamang brought the situation up with OPP Superintendent Ron van Straalen, commander of the OPP northwestern region, during an Oct. 13 meeting, but Wassaykeesic said Straalen indicated the policy will remain in place.