Effective April 1, 2017, the contract for providing Employee and Family Assistance Services (formerly referred to as Employee and Family Assistance Program or EFAP) will change. The contract with the current provider, Homewood Health, expires on March 31, 2017. The new provider, Morneau Shepell, will assume the contract on April 1, 2017.

Last week, a shortage of courthouse sheriffs resulted in two accused cocaine and heroin traffickers being freed without facing trial. This prompted extensive province-wide media coverage in which your Component Vice President Dean Purdy spoke on behalf of the BCGEU.

An alleged heroin trafficker, sitting in the prisoner’s box, smiled when a B.C. Supreme Court justice stayed three criminal charges against him because no sheriff was available for his trial on Wednesday. 

The NDP is blaming provincial government cost-cutting for the fact an alleged cocaine trafficker was freed because a sheriff was not available to escort him from Victoria courthouse cells to a courtroom. 

A B.C. Supreme Court justice freed an accused cocaine trafficker Friday because there was no sheriff to lead the man from a cell in the Victoria courthouse to the courtroom.

BC Budget 2017

This week, the BC Liberals delivered a pre-election budget with uncharacteristic commitments to new spending. In his budget speech, Finance Minister Mike de Jong boasted about the province’s ability to make service and program investments after so many years of discipline and sacrifice by British Columbians.

BCGEU Component 1 Vice President Dean Purdy joined CKNW’s Simi Sara to discuss the sheriff shortage.

On Tuesday, Component 1 Vice President Dean Purdy and Component Executive members Brian Campbell and Brandon Cox met with senior Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) officials to discuss the dramatic increase in violence inside all nine provincial jails. There was a review and discussion around the results of WCB inspections at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre (KRCC), Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre (VIRCC), North Fraser Pretrail Centre (NFPC) & Surrey Pretrail Services Centre (SPSC).

After viewing a presentation from WCB, your union raised a variety of issues and concerns as well as the union’s views on what changes need to be implemented in order to protect correctional officers:

The BCGEU commends the work of the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch, for its recently released report An Agenda for Justice: Platform considerations. The report outlines serious issues facing B.C.’s legal system and makes numerous recommendations to improve services.