I filled in at a temp job and delivered canteens right inside various prisons (in Ontario) but its the same provincially in Quebec,so I can give you a pretty good idea of the setup. (and no, it was not an enjoyable job, hence TEMP)
He's being held in solitary so he doesn't have much access to a lot of things.
When you're awaiting trial at these detention centers you're either in community cells (with 2,4,6 or even 8 inmates to a large sized cell with beds spread around the area) .. or in solitary in a very small individual cell with only the basics. Bed, sink, toilet. I know TV's (with very limited channels) are available in the community cells, so you might get a couple of stations, CBC and a local station or two. I'm not sure if the inmates in solitary get a tv. Internet access of any kind is extremely unlikely. They're given books, magazines, unsure about newspapers, quite possibly.
Access to detainees awaiting trial is very restricted and limited, vs once they're sentenced and in a federal pen, like Kingston Pen or that isolated Pen in Northern Quebec that has been referenced for this case. Once they're relocated to a permanent place to complete their sentence there is more priviledges for phone calls , possible occasional visitors (depending on his status discipline wise, who they are, and if he wishes to see anyone -- it all has to be pre-arranged, you can't just walk in and request to see someone even if they are immediate family) . As for sending old fashioned letter mail, I'm not exactly sure how straight forward it is here, vs the US where it seems to be very easy to keep in contact with people inside jail, as long as you know their inmate #. Heck, I even saw a website for a woman's prison in the US where its like a dating site and they're looking for potential husbands ! Insane, I know.
Anyways, hope that helps.
