"Our members have been through a lot of uncertainty over the past five years." - Sean Wilson
Ottawa (27 Sept. 2006) - The staff at the only private adult jail in Canada will be public employees again in November, ending a failed five-year privatization experiment launched by the Conservative government of former Ontario Premier Mike Harris.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) has reached an agreement with the province on the procedures to make the transfer when the contract given by the Tories to Utah-based Management & Training Corporation (MTC) to operate the Central North Correctional Centre in Penetanguishene expires.
OPSEU President Leah Casselman said that she is pleased that an agreement has been reached and hopes that the transition will be a smooth one.
“Our first concern was always the members currently working at the facility,” Casselman said. “There is still work to be done, but the major transition issues have fortunately been dealt with.”
Details of the transition agreement are not being released until meetings with the employees at the so-called superjail are completed.
“Our members have been through a lot of uncertainty over the past five years, especially since the announcement in April,” said Sean Wilson, president of OPSEU Local 369 at the jail.
The Liberal government of Premier Dalton McGuinty made the decision to bring the operation of the 1,184-bed facility back into the public sector on the basis of a study comparing costs and performance with the publicly-run Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay. The latter facility rated better in key areas such as security, health care and reducing re-offending rates.
OPSEU represents employees at both facilities. The union and its allies in the community have been campaigning for years to have the jail returned to the Ontario Public Service. NUPGE
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