Lockdown ended at Joyceville Institution after workplace health and safety issue resolved

Joyceville Institution has resumed normal operations after the lockdown put in place last week has ended, according to the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC).

The lockdown was put in place on Wednesday, Mar. 4, 2020 due to a “workplace health and safety issue,” which was not explained further, other than to say that issue involved no injuries or health concerns. CSC worked with Employment and Social Development Canada to review the issue, according to Kyle Lawlor, Acting Regional Communications Manager for CSC.

According to CSC, the lockdown ended on Sunday, Mar. 8, 2020 after working with Employment and Social Development Canada to resolve the issue, Lawlor explained.

“For safety and security reasons, I am unable to provide specifics of the health and safety issue. What I can share is that staff invoked section 128 of the Canada Labour Code, as they believed danger existed in the workplace, and have the right to refuse dangerous work,” he said. “As such, Joyceville Institution requested Employment Services and Development Canada (ESDC) to attend the institution to review the concerns of danger noted by staff.  ESDC completed their review and determined that danger did not exist, at which point the institution believed it was safe to resume normal operations of the institution and lifted the lockdown.”

Section 128 of the Canada Labour Code states “Subject to this section, an employee may refuse to use or operate a machine or thing, to work in a place or to perform an activity, if the employee while at work has reasonable cause to believe that

• (a) the use or operation of the machine or thing constitutes a danger to the employee or to another employee;
• (b) a condition exists in the place that constitutes a danger to the employee; or
• (c) the performance of the activity constitutes a danger to the employee or to another employee.”

Regular visits to the institution have resumed.