OPSEU/SEFPO calls on Ombudsman to hold Maplehurst’s senior decision-makers to account in upcoming investigation

OPSEU/SEFPO is calling on Ontario’s Ombudsman to hold Maplehurst Correctional Complex’s highest decision-makers to account in their upcoming third-party investigation.

The Ombudsman announced earlier this week that they will be launching a new investigation into the Ministry of the Solicitor General’s response to an incident at the jail in December 2023, citing concerns over “transparency, accountability, and inmates’ rights”.“A pattern has been clearly established in our correctional system that when long-standing systemic problems result in a crisis, frontline workers are the only ones held accountable – despite the fact that they have no control over these systemic failures and are not the ultimate decision-makers,” said Janet Laverty, OPSEU/SEFPO Correctional Bargaining Unit Chair.The Maplehurst Correctional Complex houses maximum, medium and minimum-security inmates. Correctional staff represented by OPSEU/SEFPO have spoken out for years about overcrowding at the facility, with staff-to-inmate ratios at unsafe levels for workers and inmates.“We have repeatedly asked Maplehurst administrators to provide clear direction on how our members can possibly meet policy standards when the levels of understaffing and overcrowding at the jail makes it impossible. No direction is given, no policies are changed, yet our members are faced with reprisal and discipline when they cannot meet these standards,” added Laverty.The Ombudsman’s investigation comes in the wake of two Ministry-led investigations and media scrutiny which unjustly placed blame on frontline staff for long-standing systemic and institutional failures.Laverty pointed to a recent CSOI report which stated, “the evidence supports an absence of competent managerial oversight from the beginning to end of this incident”, noting that “any third party investigation must have this in their sights.”The CSOI reports outlined that the jail’s administrators failed to comply with policies and procedures in place for crisis response and policies related to reviewing serious incidents. Further, the reports identified institutional failures, lack of transparency, and administration impeding the investigation by not providing documents, video, and other records despite numerous requests. This is in contravention to legislation; yet, the union noted that none of the principal decision makers were ultimately held accountable for these failures.“The current system of ‘accountability’ is frankly unacceptable. Our members understand the need to be held to high standards and approach their work with professionalism. They remain dedicated to their communities and public safety, but refuse to be the scapegoats for systemic problems,” said OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick. “We hope to see out of this process much-needed systemic improvements – including safer staffing and inmate housing levels – as well as strengthened systems of transparency and accountability within Ontario’s correctional facilities.”OPSEU/SEFPO represents more than 9,000 workers in provincially-run correctional facilities, probation and parole centres across Ontario. Members in the Correctional Bargaining Unit include correctional officers, probation and parole officers, nurses, rehabilitation officers, and more.