"They were conducting some searching which is routine for us, and while searching, they found an inmate in possession of narcotics. The inmate became combative as soon as the officers tried to deal with the situation and basically, it turned into a fight."

"And in that fight the drugs went everywhere, basically went airborne, it's almost like throwing flour in the air and it's just floating in the air."

"It covered the officers physically and then they also inhaled it."

John Randle, president, Pacific region, Union of Canadian Correctional Officers  

Pacific Institution in Abbotsford, British Columbia is about 80 kilometres east of Vancouver. The institution has a capacity of 508 inmates. Correction Service of Canada's Regional Treatment Centre is part of the Pacific Institution; the first prison institution in North America to gain full accreditation as a hospital. And in British Columbia, provincial laws are such that drugs are permitted to be in the possession of hospitalized patients. Medical workers are prohibited from confiscating drugs from patients, in the province's 'experimental' treatment of those addicted to drugs.

 

On June 11, during the search of a cell at the Pacific Institution, five prison guards were taken to hospital after exposure to a cloud of toxic drugs thought to be fentanyl. An inmate attempted to destroy evidence by dispersing the contraband substance into the air. Three of the officers were taken to hospital by ambulance. One of the officers needed emergency chest compressions in the ambulance, and three others required treatment with the emergency medication naloxone to restore breathing. While two other officers who had arrived to give assistance were also treated as a precautionary measure. 

 

All three of the original officers involved in a routine search demonstrated overdosing symptoms of what the officers believed at the time to be fentanyl; one of them nearly passed out. The five prison officers had been exposed to a substance and treated at Abbotsford Regional Hospital, including the use of naloxone. Later laboratory tests determined that the substance was not fentanyl, but rather a mix of stimulants.  

"This is near the top end, or on the higher end, of worst-case scenarios."

"The abundance of dangerous drugs inside our institutions is putting officers' lives at risk."

"Our members were simply doing their jobs when they were exposed to one of the most lethal drugs on the streets."

"This should never happen." 

John Randle, UCCO Pacific region president 

As for the male inmate whose presence occasioned the search, he was being held in the reception unit, assigned to inmates while they are assessed to determine their security classification and prison placement. It can take weeks for the process to be completed. No word of what the inmate had been convicted of before his imprisonment. According to the union, the incident did not represent an isolated event; there is a crisis of illicit drugs in Canadian prisons, worsened by government cutbacks.

 

"At the very moment that illicit drugs are becoming more prevalent and violence is increasing, CSC (Correctional Service of Canada) is moving in the opposite direction", charged Frederick Lebeau, national president of the union, who also stated that prison intervention for drugs has been complicated by a CSC directive that interferes with disciplinary measures against inmates for institutional drug use in pursuit of a harm reduction model, set by the government of British Columbia.

 

CSC spokesperson Lucinda Fraser stated that the federal government had budgeted funding of $60.4 million over three years for the purpose of enhancing prison security technologies in support of the capacity to detect and disrupt drone-related delivery activities into the prison system by technological stealth. At the Mission Institution in B.C.’s Fraser Valley, RCMP discovered a package dropped onto the prison grounds disguised to look like a patch of loose grass. In the package, guards found 300 grams of contraband methamphetamine, razor blades, and an iPhone. 

"Last week, officers discovered another package of drugs at Mountain Institution in Agassiz, also in the Fraser Valley, but it’s happening so often that it’s no longer a surprise for guards who work there."

"It was worth probably almost $300,000. We’re hearing numbers like that — where the 300,000-plus-dollar packages, it’s now regular to have that reported."

"It’s not even a surprise to us anymore to hear that we’re seizing those kind of packages, which is crazy."

John Randle, UCCO Pacific region president 

The Pacific Institution federal penitentiary is seen in Abbotsford, B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

 

"CSC is taking measures to address the concerns raised, particularly regarding contraband -- such as drugs -- being introduced into our institutions."

"To support our employees,we must do more than respond to incidents. We must invest in safer workplaces, modern tools, and strong mental health support services."

"We remain committed to ensuring that our staff have the tools and resources they need." 

Lucinda Fraser, spokesperson, Correctional Service of Canada