Smoking Ban Reaches Canadian Prisons

The union that represents guards at federal prisons across the country is hopeful that a complete smoking ban at jails — indoors and outdoors — will finally stop exposure to second-hand smoke in the workplace.

"We've been pushing for this [a total ban]," says Kevin Grabowsky, regional president (Prairies) of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers. For years, federal prison guards have been exposed to second-hand smoke while other federal government employees have been protected from it, he adds.

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) said last June that it would outlaw smoking entirely at its institutions by April 30. A ban on smoking indoors has been in effect since January 2006, but inmates and employees were still permitted to light up outside.

"CSC is taking this step to ensure improved safety in all of its operational units, and to provide a healthy working and living environment for staff, offenders, volunteers, visitors and contractors," Keith Coulter, the CSC commissioner, says in a statement. "It is now clear that this action is needed to eliminate exposure to second-hand smoke," Coulter notes.

Grabowsky expects there will be challenges to implementing the full ban. For instance, inmates may show their displeasure by refusing, en masse, to return from the exercise yard, or they may take more violent action, such as starting a riot.

Convicts at federal prisons are getting a few more days to light up before a smoking ban kicks in.

A total ban on smoking at all federal correctional facilities was set to start today.

However, Darcy Begrand, spokesman at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert, says the ban will now begin May 5, and only in maximum security.