Our government and Manitoba Corrections continues to be responsive and flexible to the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the health and safety of its staff and people in its custody. 

 

Now more than ever, corrections is confronted with the task of balancing the rights, health and well-being of those in correctional facilities with the goal of public safety. Since the onset of the pandemic, Manitoba Corrections has taken action to create a fulsome plan to protect staff, inmates and all involved in corrections. 

 

Starting on April 8, corrections senior management team have been sending pandemic operational guidelines to staff on a weekly basis, to ensure all involved understand the measures being taken to protect their safety. These guidelines have been continually assessed and readjusted in consultation with public health and other health experts.

 

Direction and guidance has come from public health from Dr. Jazz Atwal, who has provided information videos for all staff and has helped to create PPE guidelines and preparations. 

 

Manitoba Corrections has created multiple forms of prevention that serve to protect the staff and people in its custody. These measures include personal protection, social distancing measures, cleaning tactics, suspension of programs, creating isolation centres and use of personal protective equipment. 

 

All centres have created and are utilizing plans and procedures to isolate and provide care to the individuals who may require it. Manitoba Corrections is continuing to manage inmate populations and reduce numbers in the centres, and a dedicated Crown attorney and Legal Aid duty counsel are in place to reduce unnecessary prisoner transport and detentions. 

 

Manitoba Corrections has been a leader in the country within the correctional jurisdiction in getting staff and inmates masked, as some provinces still do not have these procedures in place. Manitoba Corrections has also been a leader throughout the country in using the latest technology including the fogging equipment for cleaning. 

 

We understand the strain that COVID-19 is putting on inmates and their families, and to aid in this centres have purchased leisure products for the isolated units which include games, magazines, movies, art supplies and several handheld electronic gaming devices. These items have been purchased with the profits from inmate canteen. Those in custody have also been able to purchase large volumes of personal calling at a reduced rate. 

 

The staff and its union (Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union) have been in continuous communication with the senior management team at Manitoba Corrections and those channels of communications have and will remain open to ensure our staff feel supported. We are certain the front-line staff and management at Manitoba Corrections are working at their very best to be a part of the fight against COVID-19 when they are already facing challenging work in their day to day. 

 

Manitoba Corrections continues to be strong in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the health and safety of its staff and people in its custody. The actions they have taken at the start of this pandemic and now highlight the hard work they do every day and we are certain that with their actions, we will get through COVID-19 and continue to provide Manitoba safe and secure correctional facilities. 

 

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