| Canadian Prisons | |
| Special Handling Unit | |
| Location: | Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec |
| Status: | Operational |
| Classification: | Super Maximum |
| Capacity: | about 100 |
| Opened: | 1984 |
| Closed: | |
| Managed by: | Corrections Canada |
The Special Handling Unit is Canada's highest-security super-maximum security prison. It is located in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec. As of 2002, it was home to 90 prisoners. It is nicknamed The SHU (pronounced 'shoe'). Inmates are always handcuffed in the presence of guards. When escorting prisoners, guards are unarmed to prevent inadvertently placing a weapon in the vicinity of the prisoner. Inmates are supposed to progress through programs in the SHU before being transferred into the general population of other maximum security prisons; however, some inmates are considered to be too high-risk to ever be eligible for this.
Notable inmates of the Special Handling Unit
- Maurice Boucher
- Allan Legere
- Guy Paul Morin (exonerated)
- Clifford Olson
- Walter Stadnick
