Thank you and good evening, Mr. Chair and the members of this committee.
I'm Jeff Wilkins, the national president for the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers.
I'm going to focus my opening statement more on the first part of the what the committee is looking into, and that's the current situation in federal prisons in relation to the Correctional Service response to COVID-19, but I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have with regard to the structured intervention units or the reports of sexual coercion and violence in Canadian prisons.
I'd first like to express my pride in representing such an incredible group of professionals, the correctional officers of Canada, who have worked through this pandemic with pride, who have sacrificed their own health and safety in their mandate to protect the Canadian public, and who all too often are unrecognized for the vitally important role they play in the criminal justice system.
Over the last 15 months, our members have been on the front lines battling this pandemic and performing the duties of all first responder groups. Arguably, one of the most dangerous occupations in the country is that of a correctional officer, and the global pandemic only increased the danger for our members. While countless public servants were sent home and workplaces were closed, our members continued to don their uniforms and enter the institutions.
Over the last 15 months, there have been significant outbreaks within institutions in every region except the Atlantic region. In recent statistics, it is known that there have been approximately 5,000 reported cases of COVID among federal public servants of the core public administration. Correctional officers represent nearly 450 of those cases, meaning that our members represent approximately 10% of the recorded cases of the entire public service. That's interesting when you calculate that our membership represents only 2% of the core public administration. Furthermore, our members were unable to telework, so our rates of infection were, for the most part, a result of work.
The waves of this pandemic resulted in a turbulent wake that some institutions are going to feel the effects of for years to come. We saw cases where the workforce of correctional officers was depleted in some of our institutions to about 30%. Forced overtime became a reality for our members in many of our institutions.
The pandemic choked the induction training programs for new correctional officers entering the service, just when that relief was needed. When restrictions began to lift after the first wave, the service scrambled to try to put on as many correctional officer training programs as they could; however, we're still behind, and our members will face another summer where forced overtime will be a reality.
UCCO-SACC-CSN was encouraged at the beginning of this pandemic when virtually all provinces moved to strengthen the front lines by providing a hazard allowance, while also creating and promoting morally inspiring messages about those working on the front lines. For those who stepped into the line of fire, it is both important to reward that bravery and to provide messages of thanks, respect and encouragement. Rightfully, front-line workers have been portrayed as heroes across this country, and I would like to highlight to this committee that the members of UCCO-SACC-CSN, Canada's federal correctional officers, are heroes as well.
The heroes I represent have not made the spotlight of recognition. Nowhere have I witnessed a message of thanks for the correctional officer. Since the beginning of this pandemic, UCCO-SACC-CSN has been asking about that recognition in the form of a hazard allowance from this government to help encourage and recognize the work being performed for the public. Unfortunately, the government has not moved in a direction to recognize this. However, this government does remain committed to subsidizing the provinces to recognize the essential workers in their jurisdiction. For the members of UCCO-SACC-CSN, this failure is demoralizing.
This pandemic has brought on many challenges for corrections, to say the least. The very nature of a penitentiary is to provide control by restricting movements and associations, while working to rehabilitate the population to become law-abiding citizens. Ironically, the way to control the spread of a pandemic in civil society is also to restrict movements and associations. Our institutions are essentially communal living facilities, not much different from long-term care homes. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it's how quickly the virus can spread in places where there's an inability to create individual space.
Of course, the population in our structured intervention units, our SIUs, has also been affected. The SIU model, which replaced segregation in November 2019, can only be assessed based on the four months it was running before the pandemic took hold in March. Though the members of UCCO-SACC-CSN and other institutional staff have worked tirelessly to meet the mandate set forth in the CCRA, it has proven extremely difficult to do with the necessary institutional restrictions.
UCCO-SACC-CSN has been vocal on many fronts with our employer, as well as the government, throughout this pandemic. We have raised and debated everything from personal protective equipment to leave restrictions, institutional routine change, risk mitigation strategies, vaccination priority, hazard pay and now, obviously, the work being done to return to normal routines.
As COVID fades into our history, we'll always need to be aware of the devastation that comes with a pandemic of this magnitude and be prepared for a future crisis.
As we come out of this pandemic, proper attention needs to be given to the mental health of our first responders and essential workers, who have made sacrifices for the public. Essentially, a battle has been waged against this virus since March 2020. All of those who have been on the front line, as well as those helping to stop the spread by following public health orders, are tired, physically and mentally. Mental health will need to be on the forefront of any agenda moving forward.
I thank you for the opportunity to make this opening statement, and I welcome any questions from the committee.