MPS DEMAND INQUIRY INTO PRISON TESTS

Human rights groups and opposition MPs condemned the federal government
yesterday for allowing inmates to be used in scientific experiments.

The Bloc Quebecois immediately demanded a public inquiry to ensure
prisoners aren't exploited in the future.

``There's nothing like knowledge of past wrongs to make sure that it's not
going to ever happen again,'' said Richard Marceau, the Bloc's critic for
prison issues. He said the Commons justice committee should hold public
hearings on the participation of inmates in drug tests and other
experiments during the '60s and '70s to determine whether anybody was harmed.

``The more open, the better it is.''

A Citizen investigation discovered that hundreds of federal prisoners were
test subjects in pharmaceutical trials, sensory-deprivation research and
studies employing electric shocks.

A former inmate of the federal Prison for Women in Kingston has filed a
lawsuit accusing the government and prison officials of using her as a
guinea pig in a 1961 LSD experiment.

The full scope of the experimentation during the era came as a surprise to
the country's leading prisoners' rights group.

``I think it's tragic,'' said Graham Stewart, executive director of the
John Howard Society. ``We were trying to protect the general population by
experimenting on those that somebody didn't care about. And that's a
terrible message. That's immoral, really, in itself,'' he said from Kingston.

``Anything that diminishes the value of human life in that environment, to
my mind, is devastating. It just can't be tolerated.''

Rubin Friedman, director of government relations for B'Nai Brith League for
Human Rights, said the experiments trampled the rights of a vulnerable group.

``It's as if someone was saying, one group is more human than another. We
know that's a very dangerous line to draw.''

The experiments compromised Canada's ability to speak out against more
serious rights violations in other countries. ``We see that even in our own
back yard we have people who have been experimented upon in a way that we
might have found horrific if it had been another country.''

NDP justice critic Peter Mancini said he found the revelations upsetting.
``I think it's a sad commentary, both on the times, and on the fact that it
was allowed to go on.''

Opposition MPs eagerly await the release of a federally commissioned report
sparked by the lawsuit filed by former inmate Dorothy Proctor. They hope it
will shed more light on the circumstances of one of the most controversial
studies -- the LSD experiment on female inmates in Kingston.

``I think there's a question of compensation, that's got to be a question
that needs to be raised,'' said Mr. Mancini.

Reform MP Jim Abbott said he fears Solicitor General Andy Scott will stall
release of the Proctor report, which was recently completed by McGill
University's ethics centre.

``Anything he can do to delay and give himself more time is the order of
the day,'' said Mr. Abbott.

Mr. Scott was unavailable for comment.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski