Parole hearing spotlights need to recognize reality of con code and rethink incarceration

Law360 Canada (February 9, 2026, 12:06 PM EST) --

John L. Hill

Lawyers and professionals who work with inmates in penitentiaries have long been aware of an unwritten set of rules that, if broken, carries the death penalty. That set of rules is quickly learned by new arrivals at jails across Canada and is referred to as the “inmate code” or, more frequently, the “con code.” A news report published in the Toronto Star on Feb. 6, 2026, reminds the public that serving a prison sentence is far harsher than being locked away from society.

The Criminal Code of Canada sets out conduct deemed impermissible in an open society and establishes penalties for any breach. Similarly, the “inmate code” or “con code” is an unwritten set of rules that forbids co-operation with authorities and mandates violence against “rats,” sex offenders or those who show disrespect. Breaches of the con code have led to a sharp rise in prison assaults, while courts and politicians often fail to take its dangers seriously.

Compliance with the con code is not considered a legitimate excuse for violent behaviour when an inmate comes before the Parole Board of Canada. An Oct.19, 2020, article in the Toronto Sun describes an attempt by Rose Cece, who was serving a life sentence for the stabbing death of Toronto police officer Bill Hancox on Aug. 4, 1998. During her parole hearing, her misconduct while in the penitentiary was noted, and she was denied release into the community. In that hearing, Cece tried to explain her actions as being compelled to follow the “con code” for her jailhouse indiscretions, which included unwanted touching, wrestling with other inmates and spitting water in people’s faces. When she was denied release, she appealed to the board’s appeal division. Her appeal was answered as follows:

“Ms. Cece, the appeal division finds that you have not raised any grounds that would cause it to intervene in the board’s decision.” It continued, “The board commented that you had made reference to ‘con code’ and that spitting water and wrestling may be normalized behaviours in the institution, but that this type of behaviour does ‘not fly’ in the community.”

The latest Toronto Star article links several cases to this code: an inmate in Surrey, B.C., died after being pressured into fighting a cellmate labelled a “rat”; serial killer Robert Pickton was murdered in a Quebec prison, allegedly because sex offenders are targets under the code; and convicted gang killer Cody Haevischer refused to testify in court, saying co-operation would put his life at risk. Haevischer was found in contempt when a judge rejected that fear as legally insufficient.

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) acknowledges the code exists and reports a roughly 45 per cent increase in prison violence in recent years. But the CSC says it faces a catch-22: inmates fear reporting threats because doing so can provoke retaliation. Advocates argue that this reality is well known to prisoners, guards and lawyers, yet courts often demand unrealistic proof of “concrete threats” before recognizing duress.

Former inmates and prison lawyers describe the code as deeply entrenched, enforced through extreme violence and sometimes tacitly enabled by guard culture or political rhetoric that minimizes or even encourages harm to despised offenders. Critics also say that the end of administrative segregation and the growth of the prison drug trade have made violence harder to control.

Overall, advocates call on courts and correctional authorities to better recognize the inmate code as a real and coercive force, rethink how prison violence is treated in sentencing and contempt proceedings, and address underlying causes such as trauma, mental illness and addiction. The warning is clear: purely punitive approaches will allow the violence to continue.

John L. Hill practised and taught prison law until his retirement. He holds a JD from Queen’s and an LLM in constitutional law from Osgoode Hall. His most recent book, Acts of Darkness (Durvile & UpRoute Books), was released July 1. Hill is also the author of Pine Box Parole: Terry Fitzsimmons and the Quest to End Solitary Confinement (Durvile & UpRoute Books) and The Rest of the (True Crime) Story (AOS Publishing). Contact him at johnlornehill@hotmail.com.

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