Corrections union says rampant drugs in Atlantic institutions have caused two inmate deaths
CTV
The regional president of the union representing Canadian correctional officers in the Atlantic region says officers are at their ‘wits’ end’ when it comes to the number of drugs, overdoses and violent incidents in federal institutions.
The regional president of the union representing Canadian correctional officers in the Atlantic region says officers are at their ‘wits’ end’ when it comes to the number of drugs, overdoses and violent incidents in federal institutions.
Howe is a regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers. CTV Atlantic last spoke with him about these issues in March. He hoped that his words would help bring about positive changes. Instead, he said the situation has worsened.
“These institutions are getting to the point that they are no longer safe to work in, point blank,” Howe said.
Two recent deaths, one in Springhill and the other in Dorchester, were the result of overdoses, Howe said.
“The kind of drugs that are coming into the institutions is anything that you can think of,” he said. “There’s fentanyl, marijuana, there's hash, there's cocaine, there's whatever that you can think of.”
Corrections Services of Canada (CSC) would not confirm the deaths were caused by overdoses in its statement but did say the inmates died of unnatural causes. Police and provincial coroner services are investigating further.
The Nova Scotia department of justice said it doesn’t release causes of death publicly because they’re considered confidential medical information.
