The Presidents' Tour 2012 - A pan-Canadian tour of the country's 52 federal penitentiaries
(MONCTON, NB, Aug. 21, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO-SACC-CSN) has now launched its Presidents' Tour 2012, which will make its way across the country to visit its members in Canada's 52 penitentiaries.
Security and safety on the agenda
The aim of the Presidents' Tour is to inform correctional officers of
the current state of negotiations with Correctional Service Canada, as
well as to talk about problems encountered in penitentiaries throughout
the country. On the agenda will be issues of overcrowding, double
bunking in cells and the security and safety of correctional officers,
inmates and the population at large. "When living conditions in
penitentiaries deteriorate, it becomes extremely difficult for us to
fulfill our mandate, which is to ensure the security and safety of
penitentiaries and the rehabilitation of inmates. In this context, we
know from experience that many inmates released from penitentiaries
promptly commit crimes among the population and end up back behind
bars," explained Pierre Mallette, National President of UCCO-SACC-CSN.
"Given that the federal government doesn't seem to want to recognize
the seriousness of the situation, we consider it important to inform
Canadians about what's happening in our penitentiaries."
Starting in the Atlantic region, the Presidents' Tour kicked off with
visits to the Nova and Springhill institutions in Nova Scotia and the
Westmorland and Dorchester institutions in New Brunswick. Tomorrow, the
tour members will visit the Atlantic institution in Miramichi before
heading on to the region of Québec.
Atlantic region
The Atlantic Regional President, Doug White, expressed enthusiasm at
having the Presidents' Tour start off in the Maritimes. "This tour is a
milestone in the history of our union." He also gave an overview of the
prevailing situation in the regions' institutions, the lack of
communication on the part of penitentiary administrations, and the
appalling consequences of budget cuts. But the issue of greatest
concern is that of managing the inmate population. "It is in Springhill
(Nova Scotia) that the whole process of assigning inmates' security
levels is done. But since the assessment unit is snowed under with
work, the inmates are transferred into the general penitentiary
population before their assessments are completed. That's where the
problems arise. This mix of populations can lead to very violent
incidents, such as when correctional officers have to manage members of
rival gangs who are in the same unit."
UCCO-SACC-CSN represents 7,400 correctional officers working in Canada's 52 federal penitentiaries.
SOURCE: UNION OF CANADIAN CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS (UCCO-SACC-CSN)
For further information:Source: Union of Canadian Correctional Officers - Syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada (UCCO-SACC-CSN)
Information: Noémi Desrochers, Communications Department
Confédération des syndicats nationaux - CSN
Cell: 514 216-1825