Correctional officers at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay refused to serve meals to hundreds of inmates Wednesday, amid heightened tensions as the province braces for a possible strike this weekend.

About 800 inmates in the jail were forced to go without breakfast and weren’t fed by correctional officers until around 1 p.m. — several hours past the usual 7 a.m. time.

Lunch at the institution was served by officers at 3:30 p.m., but the usual time is 11 a.m.

The problems were part of several “work refusals” by officers at the jail that day.

The refusals follow on the heels of 70 officers at the jail who booked off work Tuesday citing illnesses — the majority of the roster of correctional officers scheduled to work in the institution that day.

The Star learned of the events through a tip from an individual who said he is an inmate at the jail.

The information was confirmed by Chris Butsch, a correctional officer at the jail, and president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) local representing the jail’s correctional officers.

Butsch said the refusal to provide meals to the prisoners at the usual times was sparked by the officers’ fears about potential missing items from the institution’s kitchen.

The officers insisted that they search the institution for a weapon but the jail’s managers weren’t on board with the idea, Butsch said.

“We wanted a search for a weapon, potential weapons in the institution. They (managers) didn’t want us to do that because they want to argue with us on this point,” Butsch said in a telephone interview.

The officers fear that items from the kitchen — Butsch didn’t specify what — went missing around late Tuesday.

The jail has a capacity of nearly 1,200 inmates.

Ontario’s correctional officers have been without a contract since December 2014.

They have rejected a contract offer with no wage increase in the first year, a lump sum for 2016 and a pay hike of 1.4 per cent in 2017, and are pushing for solutions to overcrowding and understaffing in jails, and on being declared an “essential service.”

Butsch insists the dispute in Lindsay has “nothing to do” with the larger fight between the officers and the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

Greg Flood, a spokesperson with the ministry, told the Star Wednesday he is aware of the refusal to serve food and the book-offs.

“I understand there were some work refusals earlier (Wednesday), which resulted in a lockdown of the facility for the safety and security of both staff and inmates as we work to address the concerns that were raised,” he said.

“However, the work refusals did not have to do with anything missing from the kitchen. The Ministry of Labour has been engaged, and work is still ongoing to address these work refusals.”

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Meanwhile, the provincial head of the union representing Ontario’s correctional officers said civil service managers being recruited to staff jails in the event of a strike by correctional officers this weekend are ill-equipped for the dangerous challenges they will face.

With the government moving furniture and provisions into provincial jails, Ontario Public Service Employees Union president Smokey Thomas said Wednesday that security and safety in jails is at risk.

Correctional officers will be in a strike position at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, but contract talks will resume Friday with a mediator in bid to avert a strike or lockout.

“Without experienced and properly trained staff, the ministry may be forced to resort to lockdowns, which in turn greatly increase tensions and the risk of violence,” Thomas wrote in a letter to Treasury Board President Deb Matthews.

“By allowing OPS (Ontario Public Service) managers to take the place of corrections professionals, you endanger their lives, the lives of inmates and the lives of Ontarians in the community,” he added.

“These individuals manage IT workers, policy analysts and correspondence writers. They are in no way qualified to supervise the shrewd and violent criminals incarcerated in Ontario’s jails.”

The government, which typically makes contingency plans for jails when contract talks are ticking down to a deadline, said “most” direct contact with inmates will be by experienced managers from the Ministry of Correctional Services, as was the case in a strike 14 years ago.

“As part of our contingency planning, managers from across the Ontario Public Service have been trained to perform work that is typically done by those who may be on strike,” said Annie Donolo, a spokeswoman for Matthews.

“These managers will be redeployed to correctional facilities and other work locations as needed to ensure safe operations continue.

“Our top priority remains the health and safety of our staff and inmates . . . . All managers have received comprehensive training.

“These managers will be redeployed to correctional facilities and other work locations as needed to ensure safe operations continue.”

Referring to the general atmosphere in Ontario’s jails amid the current contract fight, New Democrat MPP Jennifer French (Oshawa) said “it’s a pretty volatile situation right now and tensions are running high.”