TORONTO – Six
correctional officers who were
dismissed in 1982 after an incident
of prisoner abuse will appear at the
Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB)
tomorrow claiming Ministry of
Corrections had evidence that would
have exonerated them.
The six
employees, represented by the
Ontario Public Service Employees
Union, were all terminated in
connection with a December 1982
incident of prisoner abuse at the
Toronto East Detention Centre. Some
of the employees were also the
subject of a criminal prosecution.
After years of
litigation, all were found to be
blameless in the incident. The
employees now allege that that the
Ministry was in possession of
evidence from the very outset of the
investigation that conclusively
established their innocence.
“We have learned
that the Ministry was completely
aware from the start that all of the
allegations against us were a sham,
and they covered that up to protect
their managers,” says spokesperson
Robert Gordon, one of the employees
falsely accused of prisoner abuse.
“The impact on our lives since that
time has been impossible to
calculate.” The employees’ careers,
and their relationships with family
and friends have been adversely
affected, in some cases tragically,
Mr. Gordon added, while some of the
managers involved in the case have
gone on to serve in senior positions
in the Ministry.
OPSEU says that
in the summer of 2005, Mr. Gordon
approached senior Ministry officials
with the fact that previously
unrevealed evidence was available
for them to review. With the OPSEU’s
assistance, the employees were told
that a Ministry investigation would
be initiated. However, no serious
investigation took place.
“This government
cannot just ‘wait the union out’,”
said OPSEU President Warren (Smokey)
Thomas. “An injustice is an
injustice, whether it occurred in
2007 or whether it occurred in 1982.
We are extremely disappointed that
the government refuses to set the
record straight for these members.”
