After years of resistance to the idea, the federal government has finally decided to put defibrillators in all federal prisons.
Coroners and medical examiners have argued for years that the devices, designed to restart someone's heart after a heart attack or trauma, should be in prisons.
Defibrillators are now a common sight in hockey arenas and government buildings.
Over a five-year period, more than 80 inmates died, and medical professionals suggest that number could have been lower had defibrillators been in place.
"The bottom line is these are not new technology," correctional investigator Howard Sapers told Â鶹´«Ã½.
"The service has been dealing with inmate death since it's been in existence. It's about time that they're in place."
One official told Saper's office in a December 2006 letter: "AEDs (Automatic External Defibrillators) are not useful in the case of suicide by strangulation ... the cost of introducing an AED program is not justified at this time considering the health issues and health emergencies of the offender population."
More correctional staff had been trained in CPR and policies on emergency responses had been strengthened, the letter said.
Still, NDP MP Peggy Nash is concerned by the letter's sentiments.
"It's a troubling message that their lives aren't seen as worthy as other people's lives," she said.
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said the federal government has now decided to install the defibrillators and blames the previous Liberal government for the delay.
"I don't know why the previous Liberal government did not respond to that. We responded in this budget with almost a million dollars," he told Â鶹´«Ã½.
CTV's Graham Richardson noted that the government's decision came a few days after documents on the issue were released to Â鶹´«Ã½.
With a report from CTV's Graham Richardson
