More corrections changes coming: justice minister

Newfoundland and Labrador's justice minister is not commenting on why the province's chief corrections official was fired Wednesday, but says the prison system is being set on a new course.

John Scoville was dismissed Wednesday as the superintendent of prisons. Justice Minister Jerome Kennedy appointed Graham Rogerson to replace him, for now in an acting capacity.

"Mr. Scoville is no longer involved in the system," Kennedy said Wednesday, shortly after he received an external review of the province's corrections system.

Kennedy will not comment on what the review found, or on how the report led to Scoville's departure.

He did,however, promise more changes.

"We feel, I feel, that Graham Rogerson has all of the tools necessary to be a good leader in that facility and to help implement the recommendations which are outlined in the review," Kennedy said.

The report contains 77 recommendations, which will eventually be released to the public.

"You'll have an opportunity, obviously, to review the report in the near future," Kennedy said.

"It's just that my position at this time is that I'm not willing to comment on Mr. Scoville's departure."

Scoville declined comment when contacted by CBC News on Wednesday.

Simonne Poirier and Gregory Brown, two out-of-province corrections experts, were tapped in April to review the entire corrections system in Newfoundland and Labrador. Their broad-based mandate including looking at working conditions for employees, labour relations, legislation and policies.

Kennedy called for the review after touring provincial facilities, including what he called "appalling" conditions at Her Majesty's Penitentiary in St. John's.

'There was an ongoing problem for years': ex-NAPE head

The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees has been advocating for an overhaul of the corrections system for years.

Former NAPE president Leo Puddister, who was involved in labour relations involving corrections for more than three decades, said Scoville was but one part of the problem at HMP, in particular.

"There was an ongoing problem for years they were ongoing before he came there, and they multiplied after he came," said Puddister.

Puddister said there was hardly an article in the collective agreement that contentious between management and staff.

"It's just a complete mess," said Puddister, who hopes Rogerson can fix a long-broken relationship between employees and managers. He noted that Rogerson is a former president of the union local.