Inmate calls for more information after asbestos halts construction work on Labrador prison

Following the discovery of asbestos at the Labrador Correctional Centre, halting construction work being done on an expansion and renovations, an inmate at the Happy Valley-Goose Bay facility is calling for more communication and testing.

David Millie said Thursday it was "very scary" for him and the other inmates to learn that asbestos had been found.

"That has been associated with cancer causing, and we're in here 24 hours a day so don't know if it's a safe level or whether it affects us down the road," he told CBC News. "We were breathing … pretty much all the same air."

But Millie said they haven't been told much else, including what the levels are or whether they're safe. Asbestos can be found in soapstone, and Millie said inmates have been told it's been found in stones brought into the prison's carving shop.

The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure has refused CBC requests for an interview. In a statement provided to CBC News on July 5, the department says that asbestos was identified in material brought into one of the workshops.

The statement says asbestos abatement was being done in the workshop and two adjoining workshops, and air monitoring shows levels comply with occupational health and safety standards and it's safe for people to be in the building.

However, work on the facility has been stopped, says the statement, and testing is being done to determine if asbestos is in the ceiling elsewhere in the facility.

A second statement, from the Department of Justice and Public Safety on Tuesday, says testing continues to show levels are low enough to allow occupancy, with the exception of the kitchen, where the results were "inconclusive." The kitchen has been sealed off, and food is now being provided by an external vendor and being plated in an area that has already gone through asbestos abatement.

Millie, an Inuk stone carver, said he's not looking to blame anyone but just wants more transparency and communication about the situation.

"I'd really like to find out about the numbers and not just for me, but for all the inmates in here," Millie said. "So that we can pretty much rest easy on our minds and our people on the outside won't have to worry."

After being contacted about Millie's concerns, the Department of Justice and Public Safety said a letter given to the inmate committee Thursday morning provided details about air quality samples, abatement efforts and a plan for an information session for inmates and staff next week.

Millie said he hopes the workshop will be reopened with different stones that have been tested and deemed safe, as the carving program is an important therapy for inmates and a way for them to financially contribute to their families.

The provincial government has previously said the carving shop will reopen in a standalone facility with space for other Indigenous programming this fall.

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