Managers Drinking, Correctional Facility Sinking
Sudbury – Employees at Cecil Facer Youth Correctional Facility charge that managers abusing alcohol on the premises have compromised security at the institution and are endangering the lives of staff and safety of the general public.
A chain of events that has led to suspensions of essential employees and fears for personal safety was sparked late Wednesday afternoon when an obviously impaired manager working at the facility went out to fraternize with staff. The manager is one of a group of supervisors who has been living and working in the facility since Ontario’s civil servants launched their job action on March 13.
“The manager was staggering, reeked of alcohol and was looking for someone to party with,” said Yvon Constantineau. “We are alarmed that managers are drinking in the facility. Everyone knows that alcohol impairs judgement, something that can lead to drastic, even fatal consequences in these institutions. We’ve had a good relationship with management so we thought it was in everyone’s best interest to report the incident to the superintendent.”
According to members of the Ontario Public Services Employees Union (OPSEU), the superintendent refused to deal with the matter. Consumption of alcohol in a provincial government facility is illegal and grounds for dismissal. At a correctional facility, there are fears that inmates may gain access to alcohol or take advantage of impaired managers to make weapons and execute uprisings.
“We gave him the opportunity to deal with this extremely serious matter internally,” said Constantineau. “We weren’t looking for dismissal of the offending individual. We merely requested that a search for alcohol, weapons and other contraband be made of the facility to ensure everyone’s safety.”
Searches are undertaken with the consent of management. Management is responsible for negotiating protocols with the union for carrying out searches. When it refused to negotiate, OPSEU staff, fearing for their personal safety, restricted inmates to their rooms and went to “safe” areas. Management reacted by suspending the correctional officers and attempting to bring in replacement workers. The replacement workers were turned back at the picket line.
“Searches are usual occurrences at correctional facilities,” said Constantineau. “Why wouldn’t management work with us to conduct a search at Cecil Facer? We can only imagine they are trying to cover something up.”
The incident at Cecil Facer is one of many at correctional facilities throughout the province that reflects a continuing, flagrant disregard of the Ontario Government for the safety and welfare of the people who work in those facilities and the people who live near them.
OPSEU is demanding that newly appointed Ontario Premier Ernie Eves live up to his commitment to conduct a more responsible, conciliatory government.
