THUNDER BAY — The province’s decision to return 50 inmates to the Thunder Bay District Jail is “wildly irresponsible,” says a union official.
In November, the district jail was evacuated after the building’s boiler failed. Backup systems were operational but inmates were moved to other detention centres across Ontario in the event the backups were to also fail.
On Thursday, Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union Local 708 president Shawn Bradshaw said a temporary diesel-powered heating system is in place while the boiler repairs continue and 50 of the 100 inmates moved to the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre as part of the evacuation have returned to the jail.
“It creates a situation that is not ideal,” said Bradshaw, who represents staff at the correctional centre. “Basically we are spreading thin an already thin group of officers to staff that. Fifty is not enough inmates to justify that staffing expenditure, so we need a bigger commitment from the government to open more space at the jail or just not open it at all.”
When the evacuation occurred, the correctional centre took 100 inmates from the district jail. This latest decision means the facility will still have 50 extra inmates, but with less staff.
The amount of staff needed at the district jail for 50 inmates is the same as is required for 80 inmates, said Bradshaw, adding one unit of the correctional centre is at 200 per cent capacity and another is at 100 per cent.
“Our jail is not a conventional jail with bars and stuff for what you see in the media,” he said. “It's a dormitory setting that requires officers to create that security aspect whereas in a normal jail that would be created by bars and concrete and steel.”
“To run the way we've been running, we've required the assistance of the jail. And when they move back to the jail, they're going to take the staff that have been keeping us afloat back to the jail, to keep them afloat, so you're just literally spreading our staffing resources too thin,” said Bradshaw. “It's wildly irresponsible and made without consult to local parties.”
