MONTREAL -- Four institutions in Quebec are “very close” to experiencing a staff shortage as an increasing amount of employees test positive for COVID-19, according to the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers.
On Wednesday, 322 employees across the country had tested positive, according to Correctional Service Canada spokesperson Marie Pier Lécuyer. A week ago, there were 248.
The agency reported in a Thursday press release that an outbreak had occurred at the Federal Training Centre in Laval, Que. A total of 14 inmates and 19 employees are said to be infected with COVID-19 in the minimum- and medium-security facility.
In-person visits are temporarily suspended at the centre. Authorities say 90.3 per cent of inmates in Laval are fully vaccinated and 92.2 per cent have received at least one dose.
The union claimed four federal institutions in Quebec are at risk of a personnel shortage: La Macaza Institution in Mont-Tremblant, Donnacona Institution west of Quebec City, Joliette Institution for Women and the Regional Reception Center in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines.
Mario Guilmette, the union’s vice-president for Quebec, indicated that the federal Canadian corrections agency was working on a protocol for Quebec federal penitentiaries in the event of a staff shortage.
Under this protocol, workers who are considered to be close contacts of a person who tested positive could be called upon to return to duty after isolating themselves for eight days rather than 10.
Lécuyer says staffing in Quebec federal establishments are “adequate” to ensure the safety of activities.
According to her, the agency has not brought any employees who tested positive back to work until they had fully recovered.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 6, 2021 with financial assistance from Facebook.
