At 12:01 a.m. Sunday, correctional and probation officers are set to walk off the job on strike, leaving lawyers, prisoner advocacy groups and families of those behind bars fearful of what might happen next.
Ottawa defence lawyer Oliver Abergel said he, too, is concerned that access to his clients may be cut off or so severely delayed by a strike at Ontario jails that their rights to a fair trial are impacted.
“It’s hard enough to see people even when things are supposedly operating normally,” said Abergel. “It may be the most righteous strike issue imaginable, but that doesn’t change the impact that if I can’t see my client, his trial might end up having to be delayed.”
Read Andrew Seymour’s full story: Ottawa Citizen
