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In the News

Dozens Of Atlantic Canadian Correctional Officers Reprimanded Over Covered Badge Protest
March 9, 2022

Officers across Canada have started covering their badges with tape while working inside the prisons to send a message of discontent to their employer, Correctional Service Canada (CSC). UCCO regional president Rene Howe said it didn’t become an issue until the officers wore the tape in public while escorting prisoners for medical appointments and other duties.

Huddle today
Mission Institution manager promoted shortly after investigation founded workplace harassment complaints
March 3, 2022

Fraser Valley corrections officers who have been victims of workplace harassment say they’re better off staying silent than speaking out against an abusive boss.

Mission City Record
Federal prison guards concerned about smuggling and drones
August 11, 2021

“These radars will facilitate more efficient detection of drones overflying the penitentiaries, which would be a step in the right direction,” Frédérick Lebeau, president of UCCO-SACC–CSN for the region of Quebec, said in a press release issued by the union.

Laval News
Plus de 40 saisies en 5 mois dans 2 prisons de Laval
August 5, 2021

«Ces radars vont permettre une détection plus efficace des drones survolant les pénitenciers, ce qui est un pas dans la bonne direction», de préciser Frédérick Lebeau, président de la région du Québec pour UCCO-SACC–CSN

Courrier Laval
Des livraisons par drone inquiètent au pénitencier de Port-Cartier
June 22, 2021

« Durant la COVID, il n’y avait pas de visiteurs autorisés, mais on faisait quand même des saisies », a expliqué Frédérick Lebeau, président de la région du Québec au Syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada-CSN. « Il faut que ça vienne de quelque part », a-t-il ajouté.

Le Manic
Livraisons par drone à la prison de Donnacona | «Ils utilisent leur cavité corporelle et ça rentre à l’intérieur de l’institution»
June 14, 2021

«C'est un enjeu de sécurité publique. Des pénitenciers en milieu urbain, il y en a beaucoup. On ne veut pas qu'il arrive d'incidents malheureux. Si on se fait livrer une arme à feu en établissement et qu'on est victime d'une évasion, ça peut être la sécurité du public qui est en danger»

Cogeco Nouvelles
Des livraisons par drones aux fenêtres des pénitenciers
June 13, 2021

«On a quand même une augmentation qui est là, c’est de plus en plus la mode que les détenus s’en servent pour l’introduction de stupéfiants et de contrebande», a souligné Yan Garneau, agent correctionnel au pénitencier de Donnacona. Armes blanches, cellulaires, stupéfiants, les objets livrés aux détenus sont nombreux, mais les outils pour les stopper ne le sont pas, croit Frédérick Lebeau, porte-parole du syndicat pour la région de Québec.

TVA Nouvelles
Drogues et armes livrées aux fenêtres du pénitencier de Donnacona
June 13, 2021

Les détenus ont trouvé comment enlever les fenêtres de leur mastic et enlever toute la structure de la fenêtre. On a des livraisons qui se font directement à la cellule. Même Uber Eats n’est pas capable de faire ça, lance Frédérick Lebeau.

Radio-Canada
«Trop facile» la livraison d’armes et de drogues dans les pénitenciers
June 13, 2021

«Il y a un enjeu majeur, un problème de livraison à l’intérieur de nos pénitenciers. C’est trop facile. Il faut que ça devienne plus difficile», dénonce Frédérick Lebeau, président du Syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada pour la région de Québec.

La Tribune
Des agents correctionnels réclament une « prime COVID »
June 4, 2021

« Le moral est vraiment bas. Comme dans la population, il y a une fatigue COVID qui s’installe et qui est exacerbée par l’écosystème explosif dans lequel vit. Il y a des agents qui ont travaillé très fort depuis le début. À Laval, on a perdu presque les trois quarts de nos employés tellement c’était difficile », lâche le président québécois du Syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada (SACC-CSN), Frédérick Lebeau.

La Presse
La COVID-19 met les pénitenciers au Canada sous pression
May 18, 2021

Le nombre d’heures que les détenus passent en dehors de leurs cellules a été considérablement réduit, explique le président régional du Syndicat des agents correctionnels canadiens pour les Prairies, James Bloomfield. Il ajoute que certaines activités comme regarder la télévision sont désormais limitées aux cellules, mais que les pratiques peuvent néanmoins différer d’un établissement à l’autre, selon l’état de la situation.

Radio-Canada
‘Patchwork quilt’ approach to COVID-19 vaccine rollout frustrates worker groups
May 14, 2021

James Bloomfield with the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers said he had hoped guards would be vaccinated at the same time as inmates, just as staff in long-term care homes were vaccinated along with residents.

Lethbridge News Now
Sol Gen wants answers in slaying of correctional officer
May 4, 2021

Jeff Wilkins, president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, said his members in the federal system “are threatened with violence, or in fact assaulted verbally or physically,” every day.

Vancouver Sun
Un transfert « à haut risque »
March 15, 2021

Et pour illustrer le risque engendré par ce transfert, le président du conseil syndical de la région du Québec, Frédérick Lebeau, a raconté que la veille de son opération de changement de sexe, Jamie Boulachanis était escortée de six agents armés, ainsi que de policiers. « Le lendemain, puisqu’elle était devenue une femme, les agents étaient moins nombreux et non armés. »

La Presse
Prisoners want more help as the outbreak at Alberta's Drumheller Institution grows
March 12, 2021

"It starts to get tense when you're locked-down for close to a year now in different forms and this takes that to another level," James Bloomfield with the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers said. "The true reality is that it is very tense." But Bloomfield says he believes living standards are still being tended to. "We will do our best to maintain that level of care for everybody in the facility. That does not drop, but what does drop is the level of movement ability."

CTV News
An inside look at how the pandemic is being managed at Grand Valley Institution
March 8, 2021

However, Robert Finucan said there has been an issue with a small group of inmates who are "very problematic." "They take a lot of time and energy to deal with them. We've been asking, as a union, for a … unit where the problematic women from this sector can go and be managed better," said Finucan.

CBC News
Correctional Service of Canada fails to track employees accused of sexual assault in prisons
March 8, 2021

The sentiment was echoed by Jeff Wilkins, national president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, who said the union condemns any form of harassment or assault by its members.

The Globe and Mail
At-risk inmates at Stony Mountain Institution given COVID-19 vaccine, correctional officers left waiting
February 5, 2021

"They've left out the frontline portion of corrections, which is the correctional officers in this. We are within these facilities every day, working frontline every day and working 24-7 with positive cases all over the place," Bloomfield told CTV News.

CTV News
Union questions why Vancouver Island prison still allowing in-person visits
January 30, 2021

Derek Chin, President of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers for the Pacific Region says ongoing visits undermine efforts to keep COVID-19 out of the prison. “We’ve been questioning a lot of the decisions made on continuing on with visits when the B.C. health orders are applicable for all of the province. And we still struggle to find out the rationale for why the visits are still occurring, and why it’s only happening on the Island,” he says.

City News
Some provinces yet to say when jail inmates to be vaccinated against COVID-19
January 21, 2021

”It’s completely foolish,” said national president Jeff Wilkins. “We have (Saskatchewan Penitentiary), for example, which has seen quite an extensive outbreak. Our members are getting burnt out.”

Abbotsford News
‘It feels like we’ve been singled out in the dark’: union questions public health order, calls for hike in pay
January 20, 2021

“It feels like we’ve been singled out in the dark with no information, waiting to find out when we are getting access to the vaccine and told sorry about not being close to your family, that’s just not gonna happen,” DeBack said.

PA Now
'People are starting to crack': Off duty self-isolation for Sask. Penitentiary staff nearing a month
January 13, 2021

Ryan DeBack, regional vice-president for the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, said staff originally received the order on Dec. 22 and it’s been extended until Jan. 19. Some members haven’t seen their children in almost a month, he said.

CTV News
Sask. Pen correctional staff isolating for an additional week: Union
January 12, 2021

“Our main support networks are our family, and our friends and our community and we’ve been told since Dec. 22 … we’re not even allowed to have contact with our families,” Ryan DeBack, Vice President, Prairies Region.

Prince Albert Daily Herald
Dix détenus ont reçu le vaccin
January 8, 2021

Mario Guillemette, du Syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada, soutient que ce sont ses membres qui devraient être immunisés en premier et le plus rapidement possible. Il estime que ce procédé aurait pour effet d’empêcher les éclosions de COVID-19 dans les prisons canadiennes.

L'express de Drummondville
Vaccinating prisoners a matter of public health, says researcher
January 7, 2021

"We have many members across this country working in very precarious institutions that have been identified as pandemic sites," said Jeff Wilkins, national president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers. "We're going to run into some serious issues."

CBC News
Elderly and at-risk inmates to receive COVID-19 vaccine on Friday
January 7, 2021

“We need the vaccine for our members so we can get more people back in the workplace, but our members are very tired right now,” said Rob Finucan, Ontario regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers.

Global News
Federal inmates to begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines in pilot project
January 6, 2021

Starting Friday, hundreds of federal inmates will begin to receive COVID-19 vaccines as part of a pilot project, according to the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO).

CTV News
Prison guards need priority COVID-19 vaccinations, union says
January 6, 2021

A union representing federal prison guards says vaccinating them against COVID-19 should be a priority, given their front-line role in correctional institutions. Members should be inoculated at their workplaces as quickly as possible, said Jeff Wilkins, national president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers.

Toronto Star
COVID-19: malaise entourant la vaccination des détenus canadiens
January 6, 2021

«C’est nous, les vecteurs», fait valoir Mario Guillemette, qui représente les agents correctionnels au Québec. Le Service correctionnel canadien a pour mandat de protéger les détenus tout comme ses employés, selon M. Guillemette, et l’employeur «remplirait ses deux objectifs» s’il vaccinait d’abord ses agents.

Journal de Québec
Federal inmates to start receiving coronavirus vaccinations this week, union says
January 6, 2021

Mario Guillemette, du Syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada, soutient quant à lui que ses membres devraient être considérés comme des travailleurs de première ligne.

Global News
Ottawa défend la vaccination des détenus âgés
January 6, 2021

Le syndicat des agents correctionnels ne s’insurge pas contre la vaccination de ces détenus, mais demande que ses membres soient aussi considérés comme des candidats prioritaires au vaccin.

Le Devoir
Vaccination de détenus âgés ou vulnérables - Ottawa garde le cap
January 6, 2021

Selon le président du syndicat, Mario Guillemette, le fait de vacciner les agents correctionnels en priorité aurait pour effet d’empêcher les éclosions de COVID-19 dans les prisons, où l’on a recensé 1146 cas et trois morts parmi les détenus sur une population carcérale totale d’environ 13 000 personnes.

La Presse
Reportage - Malaise entourant la vaccination des détenus canadiens
January 6, 2021

Lors de la première vague, Mario Guilmette rappelle que trois pénitenciers du Québec ont été aux prises avec une éclosion; Port-Cartier, Joliette et le Centre fédéral de formation à Laval. «On ne veut pas revivre ça», assure-t-il. «On veut être vacciné», réitère M. Guillemette.

TVA Nouvelles
'Segregation and solitary confinement': advocates concerned about COVID-19 spike in Manitoba's only federal prison
January 1, 2021

"When it comes into the facility at that point, we are just trying to rapid test as fast as possible," said Bloomfield. "We do have all that within the facility, so we can get the results back in half an hour, and we isolate and test everybody."

CTV News
Saskatchewan Penitentiary leads nation's prisons in active COVID-19 cases
December 24, 2020

James Bloomfield, the prairie region president for the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, said that one of the main reasons case numbers have climbed so quickly is that staff are now doing rapid, asymptomatic testing within the prison population. "Instead of waiting three or four days, and not knowing who is or who isn't positive, we end up being able to pick out all of the asymptomatic out of an entire population fairly quickly — within a couple of days — depending on how fast we test both populations," he said.

CBC News
Inmates, organizations concerned as COVID-19 takes hold in Saskatchewan Penitentiary
December 23, 2020

Union of Canadian Correctional Officers regional president James Bloomfield said the focus now is ensuring the rest of the facility can remain free from the virus. “It’s a reality of how this system works with the amount of movement from provincial to federal (facilities) and the number of people involved,” he said.

Global News
Known active COVID-19 cases at Prince Albert jail jump over 3-day span
December 22, 2020

James Bloomfield, the prairie region president for the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, said there are upwards of 70 staff and inmates who have tested positive.

CBC News
COVID-19 'running rampant' in Saskatchewan Penitentiary as calls grow for inmates' early release
December 22, 2020

While some inmates believe staff don’t care and would rather the institution lockdown, Bloomfield says that’s not the case. “Everybody is doing their best and I don’t believe there is malice,” Bloomfield said. “No matter how many bad mistakes have been made along the way. In this situation, we, fortunately, haven’t had any big mistakes. We’ve got everything under control the best we can right now. We don’t have other options here.”

MuskoskaRegion.com
Employees at Sask. Pen. told to self-isolate through Christmas, as COVID cases climb
December 21, 2020

James Bloomfield, president of the Prairies region for the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers told paNOW stress is already really high among staff who are dealing with testing and strict containment procedures minimizing movement. “The stress is through the roof and it’s really starting to wear on everybody. The only relief you’ve got is your family when you go home and they get told they can’t even do that,” Bloomfield said.

Prince Albert Now
Inmates 'think this is like a death sentence,' advocate says of COVID-19 outbreak at Sask. Penitentiary
December 20, 2020

James Bloomfield, the prairie region president for the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, said there are roughly 64 cases in inmates and one in a staff member. He notes one of the main reasons cases have climbed so quickly is because staff are now doing rapid, asymptomatic testing within the prison population. Now, with test results coming back within 30 minutes, he says it's been a big help.

CBC News
Prison visits pose COVID-19 risk: Union
November 27, 2020

“CSC said they are following public health guidelines, they’re saying they can manage the risk, but we think it’s too serious a risk,” Rob Finucan, Ontario president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, said in an interview on Friday.

Peterborough Examiner
COVID-19 cases at Mission Institution cause for concern, union says
November 19, 2020

The union that represents prison guards at Mission Institution in B.C.'s Fraser Valley says it fears a second COVID-19 outbreak at the facility will be mismanaged by the Correctional Service of Canada.

CTV News
Handling of COVID-19 cases at Mission Institution 'denounced' by staff union
November 19, 2020

The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers “denounces” the decision not to hire an outside firm to immediately deep clean the facility in which a spring outbreak spread to 120 prisoners, and killed one.

News 1130
Head of Canada’s correctional officers' union says some specialized intervention units are at capacity
October 28, 2020

The union representing federal prison staff says the Correctional Service of Canada needs to expand its number of specialized units for difficult prisoners to ensure it meets legal and safety obligations to staff and inmates.

The Globe and Mail
Des prisonniers vulnérables libérés au compte-gouttes
October 9, 2020

De façon générale, M. Lebeau parle d’un climat extrêmement anxiogène dans les prisons en cette pandémie, le stress étant aussi bien du côté des personnes incarcérées que de leurs gardiens. Et il y a la fatigue, aussi. « À un moment donné, à Port-Cartier, 75 % des effectifs étaient en quarantaine. C’est dire à quel point leurs collègues toujours en poste ont dû faire des heures supplémentaires. »

La Presse
Staff shortages plague Mission Institution following recovery from COVID-19 outbreak
October 1, 2020

Chin said guards at Mission Institution had staffing issues prior to the outbreak, but problems have been compounded by work related injuries, certain ailments among immunocompromised staff, summer leaves and “tired,” overworked members.

The Abbotsford News
Les drones au pénitencier de Donnacona, «un véritable fléau»
August 26, 2020

Bien que cette saisie soit une bonne nouvelle, le syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada (UCCO-SACC-CSN) indique que les drones restent «un véritable fléau» à Donnacona et que l’équipement utilisé fait une partie du travail, mais qu’il «est loin d’être optimal».

TVA Nouvelles
Stony Mountain inmate accused of slashing officer's throat charged with attempted murder
August 20, 2020

The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers confirmed at the time the officer's throat had been slashed with an edged weapon.

CBC News
'We knew it was going to happen': warning signs ignored at prison before escape, guard says
June 23, 2020

“For us employees, we are always accountable for our actions and decisions. Managers should be held at the same standard, if not higher because they’re the final decision-makers,” said Derek Chin, regional pacific president for the union.

CTV News
Watchdog urges prisons to ease COVID-19 restrictions as caseload drops to 1
June 19, 2020

Wilkins said he agrees that as communities begin to reopen, so too should federal prisons. He said the union is part of a 'Shaping the New Normal' advisory group that is working on a safe reopening strategy.

CBC News
«Ça se prépare»: crainte de violences post-confinement dans les pénitenciers
June 7, 2020

M. Wilkins rapporte qu’au début de la pandémie, Service correctionnel Canada a dissuadé les agents de porter de l’équipement de protection. Maintenant, ils s’exposent à des sanctions s’ils ne portent pas ce même équipement.

Le Soleil
‘Disaster waiting to happen’: Inside the biggest prison coronavirus outbreak in Canada
May 10, 2020

When some staff brought their own masks to work, they say they were prevented from wearing them. Staff reported management was worried the masks could scare inmates, said Derek Chin, regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers.

Toronto Star
Un premier prisonnier fédéral infecté meurt au Québec
May 5, 2020

Dix agents correctionnels ont également été infectés. « Ces temps-ci, on travaille beaucoup sur l’anxiété de nos membres », témoigne Frédérick Lebeau, président régional pour le Québec du Syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada (UCCO-SACC-CSN).

La Presse
Mission Institution: Voices from inside Canada’s worst COVID-19 prison outbreak
April 30, 2020

“I don’t think Mission’s management had a handle on when it began … [They] downplayed the officers’ concerns,” Chin said. “When they got the first inmate’s positive [test], they started contacting staff – three to four days later – to do tracing about who they could’ve been in contact with.”

The Abbotsford News
'Worst case scenario': One-third of Mission Institution inmates infected with COVID-19
April 25, 2020

"There's no quarantine unit -- there's infected people in every single living unit," Wilkins said. "It's gotten to the point where we're not even being told who has the virus and who doesn't, so it's not a good situation."

CTV News
Canada's prison watchdog calls out federal corrections for 'extreme' confinement as COVID-19 cases surge
April 25, 2020

The union leader does make a distinction between solitary confinement and medical isolation. "It's not a punishment. It's not a penalty," Wilkins said. "This is for everybody's safety."

CBC News
Coronavirus 'Will Tear Like Wildfire' Through Canada's Prisons: Activists
April 24, 2020

The union representing federal correctional officers is asking they all be tested for COVID-19, regardless if they show symptoms, to verify if they’re infected “or more importantly if they’re not,” said Jeff Wilkins, national president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers.

Huffington Post
Coronavirus: Activists call for inmate releases after alleged use-of-force by officers
April 23, 2020

In a statement Thursday, the union representing guards said the prison system had been unprepared for the emerging pandemic and slow to react. “A reactive and slow response only endangers staff, inmates and the general public,” said Jeff Wilkins, president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers.

Global News
Prison guards unhappy with handling of COVID-19 outbreak at Mission Institution
April 23, 2020

Wilkins says the outbreak there shows a lack of planning. "There should have been planning done to have areas of the institution that were readily available to quarantine a significant number of inmates away from another."

CTV News
Test more correctional officers to ease burden in federal prisons, union says
April 22, 2020

Jeff Wilkins of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers is telling a House of Commons committee that broader testing would identify employees who do not have the virus, ensuring they can continue to work. Wilkins says correctional officers have been sent home for 14 days after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for the virus.

City News Toronto
Union calls for extra safety measures at Mission Institution as COVID-19 outbreak continues
April 13, 2020

The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO) says more safety measures, like masks and restricting movement, need to be in place as possible to ensure the safety of 155 correctional officers and the inmate population at Mission Institution, which has a capacity for 216 inmates.

News 1130
Inmates at Alberta prison will soon be allowed to possess needles to take drugs
February 5, 2020

The union is asking Albertans to contact government representatives about the issue. "Officers need to be supported," said Bloomfield. "We keep everybody else safe, we're asking for the community to help keep us safe now.

CTV News
Union Says Inmates at Warkworth Institution Will Be Issued Needles to Inject Contraband
February 4, 2020

What this “Program” does is allow for every Offender at Warkworth (near 570) to apply for a hypodermic needle to be stored in his cell to use illegal drugs like heroin, various opioids like fentanyl and carfentanil, prescription medications, and other substances such as industrial cleaners.

Today's Northumberland
Second Alberta institution to implement prison needle exchange program
February 4, 2020

Bloomfield, though, pointed to an alternative program in place at the Drumheller Institution, which he argued is safer and more effective in limiting overdoses. Like supervised consumption sites, such as the one at Calgary’s Sheldon M. Chumir Centre, the Drumheller program allows inmates to inject drugs under the supervision of trained nurses in a designated location within the prison’s health-care unit.

Calgary Herald
David Marsden: Drugs don’t belong in prisons
February 3, 2020

So once people have been called out for their crimes, and put behind bars to signal society’s objection to their behaviour, and to send a message to others, the agency’s answer is to ensure inmates can safely continue with their worrisome drug use. It doesn’t make sense.

Red Deer Advocate
Needle exchange program coming to Bowden Institution
February 3, 2020

“The overall risk to the inmate is [also] dramatically increased in comparison to the harm reduction methods being employed in overdose prevention sites (OPS), an alternative that CSC has gone with before,” says James Bloomfield, Prairies regional president. “The risk to all staff and inmates is only increased when needles intended for injecting illegal drugs are in the cells.”

Red Deer News Now
Bowden Institution to launch needle exchange despite union concerns
January 31, 2020

“It’s a much more controlled program and safer for everybody involved,” Bloomfield said of the program, which has been around more than six months. “It’s been well-accepted by the inmate populations and it keeps the danger of having that needle and that inmate curling up in a corner out of the cells.” Bloomfield said he “can’t understand why” the federal government isn’t on board with the alternative model.

Calgary Sun
In-Depth Interview With Corrections Officer Concerning What’s Wrong With The System
January 26, 2020

We’re losing touch with what the Correctional Service is. It’s about corrections, it means correcting behaviour. But then you also have to look at victims rights as well. These guys have committed crimes to end up in here. It’s very clear the pendulum is swinging to far the other way.

Today's Northumberland
La livraison de contrebande par drone dans les prisons inquiète les agents correctionnels
January 26, 2020

Le syndicat national demande maintenant des investissements de la part de Service correctionnel Canada (SCC) pour que des mesures soient prises afin d'empêcher l’utilisation de drones près des établissements carcéraux.

Radio-Canada
Correctional officer left bloodied in attack by inmate at Warkworth Institution
January 23, 2020

"It is becoming a more challenging and dangerous work environment for correctional officers as there appears to be a correlation between an increase in perceived unrealistic correctional officer accountability and responsibility and a decrease in offender accountability and responsibility," Essex stated

The Peterborough Examiner
Union says new segregation rules jeopardize officer safety
January 23, 2020

Rob Finucan, the Ontario president for UCCO based in Kingston, said the attacks by inmates on officers are due to the offenders feeling they won’t be punished as severely as before. “Our concerns are inmate accountability,” Finucan said in an interview. “I’m seeing across the country there’s no accountability for their actions.

The Kingston Whig Standard
Warkworth Institution correctional officer recovering from attack by inmates
January 21, 2020

Finucan said the officer suffered facial injuries, and has been off work since the attack while he receives medical attention.

Inquinte.ca
Correctional Officer At Warkworth Institution Violently Assaulted
January 21, 2020

“It is becoming a more challenging and dangerous work environment for Correctional Officers as there appears to be a correlation between an increase in perceived unrealistic Correctional Officer Accountability and Responsibility and a decrease in Offender Accountability and Responsibility.”

Today's Northumberland
Il agrandit sa cellule à coup de banc de métal
January 15, 2020

«C’est pas tant que les installations sont désuètes, c’est que les normes de construction ne sont pas adaptées, a affirmé le président du syndicat. La solution: il faut améliorer ces normes et faire des rénovations.»

Journal de Montréal
Prison needle use should be supervised to ensure safety, guards say
October 19, 2019

They say if the prison service wants to continue distributing needles, then the injection site, known as an overdose prevention service, should be the model

Canadian Press - National Post
'My job is meaningless': Prison guards at B.C.'s only maximum-security prison report low morale
September 23, 2019

The union representing Canada’s correctional officers is calling for better communication between prison management and staff at Kent Institution after a mental health survey found it to be a “highly dysfunctional and unhealthy” workplace.

Vancouver Sun
A prison is opening the first overdose prevention site for inmates in Canada
June 10, 2019

While the pilot program is being praised by medical and drug policy experts as a positive measure to curb rising overdoses behind bars, correctional officers are wary of being forced to acknowledge — and even accept — that illicit drugs are being consumed on their watch.

Global News
Drumheller’s federal prison first in Canada to open overdose prevention site for inmates
June 9, 2019

The message is clear: needles need to be removed from prison cells and the exisiting program must come to an end, said Wilkins.

Red Deer Advocate
Un premier centre d'injection supervisée dans une prison canadienne
June 9, 2019

Le pénitencier de Drumheller, dans le sud de l'Alberta, s’apprête à ouvrir un centre d’injection supervisé à l’intérieur même de ses murs, selon le syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada.

Radio-Canada
Supervised consumption site in federal prison will be 1st in Canada, says union
June 9, 2019

Harm reduction facility in Drumheller, Alta. penitentiary could open as soon as end of this month

CBC
Corrections Canada turns to detection equipment to fight contraband drone drops
June 9, 2019

The union that represents workers inside federal penitentiaries has been sounding the alarm about drones and illegal drugs entering prisons for years.

CBC
Federal prison in Alberta expected to be first to open supervised drug injection site
June 8, 2019

“The correctional officers are dead set against the prison needle-exchange and the current way it’s being rolled out,” Wilkins told the Post in a Thursday interview, saying officers are concerned about their safety.

National Post
Une seringue géante dans les rues d'Ottawa
June 7, 2019

En place depuis l’an dernier, le Programme d'échange de seringues en prison fait toujours l’objet de contestations de la part des agentes et agents correctionnels du Canada. Ils transporteront une seringue géante dans les rues d’Ottawa, leur façon de réitérer une demande de longue date faite au gouvernement, celle de trouver une solution qui ne mette pas à risque leur sécurité.

Dutrizac de 6 à 9 - QUB Radio
Eyes on the needles
June 7, 2019

To help addicts in prison, the Trudeau government is supplying them with clean syringes — but the federal prison guards' union says that's a serious risk to its members.

As it happens - CBC Radio
‘Yes, it’s torture’: Federal inmate on segregation and life on the inside
June 1, 2019

But it’s not only advocates and inmates that are apprehensive of the proposed changes — it’s also the prison guards. Jason Godin is the national president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, which represents over 7,300 members working in federal institutions across the country. “Administrative segregation for us is always a last resort,” Godin says. “I’ve been in the service long enough to know, I’ve worked in segregation units, that’s the last thing we want to do.”

APTN Investigates
Les détenues à la prison pour femmes de Joliette ont maintenant accès à des seringues
May 24, 2019

Des gardiennes de prison et des détenues mentionnent avoir peur depuis que les prisonnières qui veulent se droguer peuvent demander une seringue propre pour s’injecter dans leur cellule puis la conserver.

98,5 fm
'Toxic, dysfunctional': Why workers at these federal prisons feel bullied, fearful
May 21, 2019

Internal workplace reports at Springhill Institution, Nova Institution for Women describe staff concerns

CBC
Correctional Officer union president steps down
May 16, 2019

Jason Godin, the now former national president and founding member of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers representing more than 7,300 federal correctional officers across Canada, has passed the baton to a new leader.

Kingston Whig Standard
Phénix: les agents correctionnels acceptent l'entente d'indemnisation
May 14, 2019

Les délégués du Syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada affilié à la CSN ont voté en faveur de l'entente de principe survenue avec le Conseil du Trésor visant à dédommager les travailleurs de la fonction publique, dont les agents correctionnels, à cause des problèmes causés par le système de paie Phénix.

La Presse
Allegations of ‘toe tag parole’ at Warkworth a ‘slap in the face,’ union says
May 10, 2019

An allegation that guards at Warkworth Institution recently encouraged inmates to take enough fentanyl to drop and earn "toe tag parole" was a "slap in the face," says the president of the union for correctional officers there.

The Peterborough Examiner
Ottawa announces funding to combat prison drone deliveries
May 9, 2019

The prairie regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers who works at Stony Mountain, James Bloomfield, told CBC News inmates and their contacts are using drones to bring things like drugs, cell phones and weapons into prisons.

Radio-Canada International
Un programme d'échange de seringues qui dérange
May 7, 2019

«On dit que la drogue est illégale, mais on donne l'outil pour s'injecter, c'est un non-sens, on ne comprend pas où va le gouvernement», dénonce Frédérick Lebeau du Syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada.

TVA Nouvelles
Prison de Donnacona: un programme d’échange de seringues dérange
May 7, 2019

Le Syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada tient mordicus à ce que les seringues ne se retrouvent pas dans les cellules des détenus.

Journal de Montréal
Un système de détection des drones au pénitencier de Donnacona d’ici deux ans
May 4, 2019

Des centaines de criminels québécois se déclarent autochtones dès leur admission au pénitencier, ce qui leur permet de bénéficier de certains avantages, comme des visites contacts plus fréquentes avec leur conjointe et une réévaluation plus rapide de leur cote de sécurité.

La Presse
Corrections officers protest needle exchange program in federal prisons
May 1, 2019

Union of Canadian Correctional Officers pushes for supervised consumption sites in prisons

CBC News
Inmate killings, rising violence lead to spike in PTSD rate among prison staff: union
April 29, 2019

The union representing correctional officers is raising concerns about the number of staff suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

CBC News
New segregation rules played role in Stony Mountain homicides: prison guards union
April 24, 2019

A union representing prison officers is raising concerns about changes to segregation in Canadian prisons after five inmate homicides at Stony Mountain Institution in 16 months.

CBC News
Prison needle plan irks guards
April 15, 2019

Correctional Officers marched outside Bill Casey's office in Truro

CTV News
Stony inmate gets 10.5 years for selling toxic opioid in prison
April 8, 2019

A former representative for prisoners at Stony Mountain Institution has been sentenced to 10.5 years for selling one of the most toxic opioids within prison walls.

Winnipeg Free Press
Surdose à Donnacona : « La drogue était livrée directement à leur fenêtre »
April 7, 2019

Près de 40 surdoses sont survenues en trois mois au pénitencier de Donnacona. Face à cette problématique, les agents correctionnels demandent plus de ressources pour lutter contre la crise des opioïdes.

FM 93
Épidémie de surdoses au pénitencier de Donnacona
April 6, 2019

Les agents correctionnels du pénitencier de Donnacona doivent gérer une situation préoccupante: en seulement trois mois, entre septembre et décembre 2018, ils ont été témoins de 37 surdoses chez les détenus.

Journal de Montréal
Opioid crisis: 37 overdoses at Donnacona penitentiary over 3-month period
April 6, 2019

Correctional officers at the Donnacona Institution, a federal penitentiary 30 kilometres west of Quebec City, are raising the alarm after witnessing a wave of fentanyl and carfentanyl overdoses.

CBC
Près de 40 surdoses l'automne dernier au pénitencier de Donnacona
April 6, 2019

Les agents correctionnels du pénitencier de Donnacona ont eu à gérer une série de surdoses sans précédent l'automne dernier. Ils réclament davantage d'outils pour faire face à la crise des opioïdes et aux livraisons par drones.

Radio-Canada
What the judge heard at the Matthew Hines preliminary inquiry
April 6, 2019

A judge determined there’s not enough evidence to send two prison guards to trial in Hines's death

CBC
Cape Breton family wants prison death incident referred directly to trial
April 5, 2019

The family of a Cape Breton man who died while an inmate in a federal prison in New Brunswick is asking that the province’s Attorney General direct that two corrections officers be sent to trial.

Cape Breton Post
Pas de procès pour deux gardiens de prison accusés d’homicide involontaire
April 5, 2019

Près de quatre ans après la mort du détenu néo-écossais Matthew Hines au pénitencier de Dorchester, au Nouveau-Brunswick, toutes les accusations portées contre deux agents correctionnels sont abandonnées.

Radio-Canada
Judge dismisses charges against jail guards in death of N.B. inmate
April 5, 2019

A judge has dismissed charges against two correctional officers in the death of an inmate who was pepper-sprayed inside New Brunswick's Dorchester Penitentiary.

CTV News
2 prison guards charged in Matthew Hines’s death will not stand trial, judge rules
April 5, 2019

After hearing four days of evidence in the fall, Judge Ronald LeBlanc discharged Ross and Bourgoin on Friday, concluding the force they used was reasonable and necessary and did not rise to the level of a crime.

CBC
OD prevention sites possible at Canada's prisons: Correctional Service
March 28, 2019

Canada’s prisoner service is considering opening overdose prevention sites as it expands a needle-exchange program that is now offered at a fifth institution for offenders who inject smuggled drugs.

National Post
Sweating for STARS
March 23, 2019

John Lambiris knows how much important STARS air ambulance is

Prince Albert Daily Herald
Behind Bars
February 8, 2019

An increase in reported inmate-on-staff violence in Ontario’s correctional institutions has led to the release of a report by the province’s independent corrections adviser in December 2018, offering 42 recommendations aimed at making jails safer. But correctional violence is not unique to Ontario...

OHS Canada
Programme d’échange de seringues : toujours pas de date de déploiement
January 25, 2019

Aucune date n’a encore été arrêtée pour le déploiement du controversé programme d’échange de seringues dans les pénitenciers québécois...

Le Soleil
Behind the Walls Part 3 : “There isn’t the ability to have long-term proper care of us”
January 18, 2019

A 29-year veteran of Correctional Service Canada (CSC), Reynolds has been a vocal advocate for better mental health support for officiers and staff for years...

Prince Albert Daily Herald
Les cellulaires miniatures, une porte d’entrée du crime organisé dans les prisons
January 7, 2019

La miniaturisation des téléphones cellulaires empêche le gouvernement fédéral de lutter efficacement contre le crime organisé dans les établissements carcéraux...

Radio-Canada
Deux livraisons par drone interceptées
December 29, 2018

Le pénitencier fédéral de Donnacona a été ciblé par au moins deux livraisons par drone...

TVA
Judge to decide in April whether prison guards will stand trial for manslaughter
December 20, 2018

Two Dorchester Penitentiary guards will have to wait until April 5 to find out whether they'll go to trial on criminal charges related to the death of inmate Matthew Hines...

CBC
Stony Mountain Institution inmates using drones to sneak in contraband, say staff
December 6, 2018

The union that represents corrections officers at Stony Mountain Institution says its members are at risk due to the latest trick inmates are using to get contraband into the prison...

CBC
Prison officials, officers’ union concerned about drone-delivered drugs, weapons at Stony Mountain
December 5, 2018

Inmates at Stony Mountain Institution are taking to the air in their efforts to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the federal penitentiary, prison officials say...

Winnipeg Free Press
Guards union has concerns with CSC’s needle exchange program
December 4, 2018

After meeting with Ralph Goodale, the federal minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and hearing comments made by the minister at a Public Safety committee meeting last week...

The Whig
Correctional Officer meet with Finigan on needle issue
December 3, 2018

On Friday afternoon, visitors to the Newcastle Farmer’s market had the opportunity to talk to Correctional Officers from the Atlantic institution in Renous...

Miramichi Online
Prison officials hope for body scanners in fight against opioids
November 28, 2018

New legislation put forward in Ottawa would pave the way for body scanners to be used in federal penitentiaries, something the local union president says is “an absolute need” to keep the flow of drugs out...

The Drumheller Mail
Collins Bay inmate dead of apparent drug overdose, guards' union says
November 28, 2018

An inmate’s death early Saturday in the medium-security unit at Collins Bay Institution was caused by an apparent drug overdose...

Ottawa Citizen
Goodale hints prison needle programs could be changed
November 27, 2018

Prison needle-exchange programs that guards say will endanger their health and safety could get another look with an eye to changes, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale signalled Tuesday...

National Post
Delay adjourns preliminary inquiry for 2 guards accused in Matthew Hines’s death
November 27, 2018

An unexpected delay has pushed back closing arguments in a preliminary inquiry for two Dorchester Penitentiary guards charged in the death of Matthew Hines...

CBC News
Toujours des rates pour le système de paye Phénix
November 26, 2018

Près de 300 agents correctionnels ont manifesté, le 22 novembre, devant les bureaux du Service correctionnel du Canada...

Le Courrier Laval
One wounded after prisoner grabs guard’s gun, fires shot in Kingston Hospital
November 20, 2018

A Correctional Service Canada inmate is facing nine charges from Kingston Police, and the Kingston General Hospital emergency department...

Ottawa Citizen
Importante saisie d’héroïne au pénitencier de Cowansville : « Inquiétant »
November 17, 2019

L’importante saisie d’héroïne réalisée au pénitencier de Cowansville mardi est jugée « inquiétante » par le Syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada...

La Voix de l'Est
Prison guards getting 'frustrated' over not being consulted about changes
November 5, 2018

Being told they will have to give inmates who use drugs clean needles beginning next year isn't the only thing that's bothering correctional officers these days...

Northumberland News
Sask. Correctional officers protest prison needle exchange program outside Goodale’s Regina office.
November 2, 2018

Correctional workers from across Saskatchewan were in Regina Friday protesting a needle exchange program...

CKRM 620
Vive opposition au programme d’échange de seringues en prison
November 2, 2018

Le Syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada a manifesté à Regina et à Moncton contre le programme d'échange de seringues en prison...

Radio-Canada
Warkworth correctional officers oppose inmate needle exchange program
November 2, 2018

Members of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers at Warkworth Institution set up an information picket line Friday morning...

Northumberland News

Union of Canadian Correctional Officers
Syndicat des Agents Correctionnels du Canada
Confédération des Syndicats Nationaux – CSN

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