Reid, an inmate at the Okanagan Correctional Centre, was denied his request to change his diet. He reached out to us for help as he felt this denial was unreasonable.

Through our investigation, we reviewed the Adult Custody Policy (ACP), which provides direction on inmate diet selection, and learned that inmates are required to declare their diet selection upon admission. Any further diet changes are generally not permitted unless recommended by a health care
professional. Essentially, inmates have only one opportunity to make their diet selection regardless of how long they are incarcerated.

We questioned whether it was fair to broadly restrict an inmate’s ability to change their diet selection regardless of the length of incarceration. We suggested that BC Corrections revise the ACP and meal selection form to provide for change at a reasonable interval based on an inmate’s change in circumstances. BC Corrections agreed and the ACP now allows inmates to change their original diet selection once after a continuous period of confinement of six months, in addition to any additional changes determined by a health care professional.