GUARDS' LAWSUIT A 'FANTASY'

A $130-million lawsuit launched by prison guards last week is a sinister
attempt to stifle internal corruption investigations, the warden of
Kingston Penitentiary charges.

In an interview with The Whig-Standard on Wednesday, Monty Bourke called
the suit, which levels accusations of entrapment and illegal conduct
against a number of prison managers, outrageous.

"The statement of claim is a kitchen sink of misinformation, inflammatory
language and outright fantasy," Bourke said.

"The message is clear: It is to intimidate the warden and senior managers
to back off when faced with corruption or wrongdoing by staff."

Bourke fired eight guards and took disciplinary action against seven others
this year after a sweeping, three-year probe by the RCMP uncovered illegal
activities. Running drugs, alcohol and other contraband to inmates were
said to be among the charges.

The findings of the police investigation have not been made public and so
far, no criminal charges have been laid.

Bourke says the Crown attorney is expected to announce the charges, if
there are any, later this month. He believes most of the fired guards have
launched internal grievances.

The 19-page statement of claim came as a complete surprise to the warden,
who views it as a "fishing expedition" by staff to get more information on
the RCMP probe.

The suit claims that entrapment tactics were used during the RCMP
investigation, code named Project OCORRECT, and that inmates received
immunity from prosecution, transfers and other rewards for informing on
correctional officers.

The suit alleges that personal information about prison workers and prison
security fell into the hands of inmates during the investigation,
endangering guards, their families and the institution.

Four Kingston Penitentiary correctional officers: James Smith, Germain
Gaignard, Trevor Lee and Jack Coimbra, are claiming damages for
"intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of duty of good
faith, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of duty and care" and violation of
the Charter of Rights.

Named in the suit are Bourke; Attorney General of Canada; Brendan Reynolds,
deputy commissioner of Correctional Services in Ontario; Michael Ryan,
Kingston Penitentiary deputy warden; Bruce Somers, head of security; Rick
Rogers, Bill Isaacs and Sherri Crisp, preventive security officers.

Because of the pending court case, Bourke could not comment on specific
claims made in the lawsuit, but said he will not be intimidated into
dropping corruption investigations.

"I don't like it, and frankly, I'm not going to lie down," Bourke said.

"We'll challenge it head-on."