90-year-old Sudbury Jail 'not fit for animals'

Half a dozen jail guards gathered outside Sudbury MPP Glenn Thibeault's office Tuesday, to press their demand he tour to see first-hand the conditions in the Sudbury Jail.

Nathan Aubin , president of OPSEU Local 617, said OPSEU president Smokey Thomas has invited MPPs from all parties in all ridings to join him on the tour, so they are better informed about demands jail guards are making at the bargaining table.

"As of today, none of them have responded," Aubin said. "So we're here to ask whether or not they're going to, and whether they're going to our issues seriously."

In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Thibeault said he was willing to go on the tour.

"I'm more than happy to make it happen if it will work with my schedule," Thibeault said, adding he has no issue with protests outside his office, as long as they are peaceful.

If the tour happens, Aubin said the Liberal MPP will see first hand the “deplorable” conditions guards and inmates alike face every day.

"We've got a jail that was built in the early 1920s and it hasn't changed much since then,” he said. “"There have been some renovations done, but we have a mould issue, last year we had an asbestos issue. It just seems to be one issue after another and there's been Band Aid solutions but no actual resolution.

“The conditions inside aren't suitable for animals, but they think it's suitable to house people in. I don't understand why they would continue down that road."

In addition to the physical condition of the jail, Aubin said his members also deal with the significant mental-health issues among the prison population, which makes life much tougher for guards and leaves inmates untreated.

"The mental health of these offenders that are being locked away, the things my members have to deal with on a daily basis, (the MPPS) need to see that,” he said. "It's insulting when you hear parliamentarians talk about conditions they haven't witnessed first hand."

The problems stem from the early 1990s, he said, when former Premier Mike Harris made deep spending cuts to mental-health services. That has meant police forces are dealing with more and more people with untreated mental illness, who end up behind bars rather than in a facility where they can be helped.

"They've criminalized mental illness," Aubin said. "Now, the police have no choice but to bring them to the jails ... You can't lock someone with a schizophrenic issue in a 3x5 cell and think things are going to get better.

"We had a member that was trapped in an elevator with three offenders for hours. Safety does not seem to be the priority of this government."

Aubin said guards are likely headed to a strike, which will likely mean more problems inside the jail, such as a recent one when a three-hour disturbance was resolved peacefully, with some inmates being transferred to other jails.

“The stress levels among the offenders are high. They know if there is a labour dispute, there's going to be a significant lockdown. They're going to have even more limited access to the outside world."

The ideal solution to many of the issues would be a new jail, he added. Thibeault said it's something worth considering.

“When I was elected in February, people were talking to me then about how we need to look at the courthouse and jail in Sudbury, so that's something that has been on my radar," he said.

"With the infrastructure funding that's going to be available, that is something I would like to see be addressed for Sudbury and for Northeastern Ontario."

Thibeault also hopes the guards are able to come to an agreement and head off a strike, as teachers and other public-sector bargaining units have done.

"I hope that's what we see because that's the best way to get things done for labour peace."