Joyceville Institution locked down due to ‘health and safety issue’: CSC

Joyceville Institution in Kingston, Ont., is on lockdown after employees refused to work due to a health and safety issue.

The medium security penitentiary was locked down March 4, with CSC saying: “The safety and security of the institutions is the Correctional Service of Canada’s (CSC) primary concern.”

Kyle Lawlor, a CSC communications officer, said he could not comment about what the potential risk was, since a third-party — Employment and Social Development Canada — is currently investigating the source of the concern at the institution.

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Lawlor said this process is not uncommon in correctional work. If employees feel they may be in danger for some reason, they, most often through their union, can refuse to work until the potential danger is assessed.

He added that there is currently no timeframe for the review of the institution to be completed.

For now, visits have been suspended. Normal operations will resume as soon as it is considered safe to do so, according to CSC.

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