Ontario jail strike would affect 6 facilities in northeast

People on both sides of the bars are bracing for an expected strike or lockout this weekend in Ontario jails.

The job action would put hundreds of correction workers across the northeast of the province on the picket line, and leave rookie guards to look after approximately 400 inmates in the region.

Robert Dominelli of Sudbury spent about a decade of his life inside northern Ontario jails, and laughs when told the province plans to replace striking guards with non-union workers brought in from other government offices.

"They're in for a handful, boy. If you're not from that background and you walk in there to do a job, oh boy," he said.

"There's team orange and team blue. There's no love lost. You don't talk to a guard unless you have to. They're your keeper, not your brother," said Dominelli.

During the last strike in 2002, some corrections workers remained on the job, but this time the government plans to run the jails without them.

In a written statement, Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services said those employees will receive "comprehensive training" and be paired with workers who have corrections experience.

One of the main issues on the bargaining table is the request from correction workers to be classified as an essential service, similar to firefighters and police. In so doing, they would give up their right to strike and contracts would be set through binding arbitration.

"So, it's kind of ironic. You're going to go on strike, so you don't go on strike any more," said Ken Steinbrunner, a corrections officer at the Monteith Corrections Complex near Iroquois Falls and the president of the union local representing about 70 guards.

The jail is already overcrowded and understaffed, with a whole floor closed because there aren't enough guards to patrol it, he said.

His members have been doing less overtime as contract talks have broken down, meaning more time in the cells for inmates and rising tensions in the jail, he said.

"It's just getting worse and worse and something really bad is going to happen and only when something bad happens to they seem to react and do what they're supposed to do," said Steinbrunner.

Corrections workers were last on the picket line in 2002. The strike lasted for 51 days, with several riots at jails in northern Ontario, including at Monteith and the Sault Ste. Marie jail.

There were also reports of inmates being placated with pornographic movies and takeout meals like pizza.

Correction system of Northeastern Ontario at a glance

• Sudbury Jail. Built in 1928. 101 inmates. 95 correctional officers.
• Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre. Built in 1990. 116 inmates. 90 correctional officers.
• North Bay Jail. Built 1930. 88 inmates. 50 correctional officers.
• Monteith Correctional Complex. Built in 1938. 84 inmates. 70 correctional officers.
• Cecil Facer Youth Detention Centre in Sudbury. 24 resident beds. 75 officers.
• Donald Doucet Youth Centre in Sault Ste. Marie. 16 resident beds. 44 officers.
• Probation and parole 61 adult officers and 30 youth officers across the Northeast would be affected by a strike.