Union leaders for correctional officers in Nova Scotia believe the government was trying to cover up the presence of asbestos at the Cape Breton Correctional Centre and that an anonymous whistle blower blew their cover.

According to an article in Metro News, yesterday union officials made public a number of documents showing inspectors knew about the asbestos as far back as 20 years ago.

“This is nothing short of a cover-up. There’s no two ways about it,” said Jim Grosse of the NSGEU, the union to which correctional centre workers belong. “It’s negligence, perhaps criminal negligence.”

Justice Minister Cecil Clarke dismissed the old reports and noted that recent air quality tests deemed the air in the prison safe. He found the notion of a cover-up absurd.

“That’s just not the case,” he said. “Clearly we did follow the protocols and we followed the actions that were necessary.”

NSGEU officials say the government never told guards about the asbestos, though officials have known about the presence of the toxic mineral since tests came back on April 25. At that time, the only people told were management and maintenance workers.

The union says a maintenance worker leaked the news to them in early May. They demanded a meeting with management, which was held on May 15.

Clark disputes the union’s timeline.  “That’s not the facts as they are known to the department.” he said.

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