By Rob Tripp, The Kingston Whig Standard

Corrections Canada has quietly opened a new $58-million prison complex that penitentiary workers warn is unsafe.

As of yesterday, eight federal inmates had been moved into one of four new living units erected inside the stone walls of Collins Bay Institution on Bath Road, according to the union representing security staff.

The units were built over the last six years as part of a wholesale renovation of the decaying, 79-year-old prison. The units have been sitting empty for months as managers battled staff over safety concerns.

Workers had warned that they might refuse to work in the new units if their concerns were not addressed.

Prison staff responded to the opening of one unit by filing formal health and safety complaints.

“We had tried to warn the employer,” said Jason Godin, Ontario president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers.

“We didn’t want to go down this road.”

Godin said the complaints trigger a formal process of investigation involving management and the union.

If the sides can’t agree, officials from Human Resources Development Canada can be called in to rule on the issues. They can issue binding orders on Corrections to correct problems.

“It’s basically complaints about unsafe conditions,” Godin said.

The union has fought senior managers for more than five years over plans to convert Collins Bay into an open-concept, medium-security prison.

Part of the concern stems from Collins Bay’s history as an institution that has housed violent inmates. It’s known as gladiator school because of frequent deadly clashes between convicts.

The new living units feature a two-storey central hub connected to four corridors of cells. There are no barriers or passageways that staff can seal off to contain the 96 inmates housed in one unit.

Staff say they’re sitting ducks for attack by inmates and they have little or no means to control uprisings.

Godin said management has responded to some concerns and is talking

to his union and others, but many issues remain unresolved.

“We’re still working on a number of items relating to personal protective equipment,” he said.

Security staff also are concerned about the sturdiness of locking mechanisms, escape routes in the event of violence, training and a host of other issues.

The union representing administrative and maintenance workers had complained that it was left out of meetings to discuss security concerns.

“We made a bit of a stink and we’ve been invited to the meetings,” Garry Shaver, of the Union of Solicitor General Employees, said yesterday.

Shaver said prison managers appear mindful of the pressure exerted by the workers about safety concerns.

“They’re taking it very, very slow just to try and make sure everything’s OK,” he said.

The Collins Bay renovation is behind schedule, likely over budget and has been plagued by problems. It was supposed to open last year.

At one point, contractors had to be called back to reinstall all of the plumbing in one living unit because it was in violation of the building code and ignored security problems.

Shaver said he and another union member had warned prison managers about the faulty plans before the work was done.

Most of the traditional cell blocks at Collins Bay have been demolished.

Godin said Corrections has said it wants to have 60 inmates in one unit by the end of November.

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