Sheriffs classes postponed by government financial review

A training program fornew sheriffs has been postponed as the Progressive Conservative governmentcontinues its financial review of government services.

Some trainees had quit their jobs or spent hundreds of dollars getting ready for the classes. The trainees wereissueduniforms andhandcuffs and haven't been asked to return them, but Manitoba Justice doesn't view this as a security threat.

Sheriffs transport people in custody between courts, maintain security at courthouses and do other tasks such as court-orderedproperty seizures.

CBC News spoke to one person who was accepted into the training program. The person still wants a job as sheriffand has asked not to be named forthis story.

The recruit was accepted into the training class after passing a test and background interviews and passedscreening checks for adult and child abuse. The recruit upgraded hisdriver'slicence and took enhanced first aid training. Altogetherthe recruit figures hespent $300 to $400preparing to attend the program.

Healso quit hisjob in anticipation of the training, though hewas able to find other work after the class was postponed.

"It makes you lose faith in the government. It makes it look like it's unimportant to them," the recruit said.

The recruit was also issued a Manitoba sheriff's uniform and other equipment such as handcuffs. Noone from the Department of Justice has askedthe recruit to return the gear.

"We are pretty much dead to them, I guess," the recruittold CBC News.

The Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for the court system for Manitoba Justice says a decision to postpone the training was made by the PC government.

ShaunaCurtin says a review of government services is happening across the system and the training has been"delayed while the government completes its analysis."

"What is happening right now is government is working very hard to understand their financial position and they are looking at recruitment in terms of the department and at government at large."

Differing views on security risk

Curtin says while there is no safety risk to thepublic or to sheriffs already working in the system, sheacknowledges postponing the training class puts more pressure on an already busy part of the justice system.

"There are times when we have to work very hard to manage given the resources we have.Right now we are a little bit short, theturnover is high and what we do is some tasks would be a little lower on the priority list,"Curtinsaid.

Curtin says neitherthe change in government nor the financial review wasanticipated when the department was putting together the training class. She admits the move mayhave caught some of the recruits by surprise.

But a sourceinside the sheriffs department of Manitoba Justice disagrees.

That personsays the department should have immediately retrievedthe uniforms the recruits were issued and keep close control over such equipment.

"That's a huge security risk," the source said. "The threat level [in our work] is high."

The source says most sheriffs have been on high alert since ISIS sympathizer Aaron Driver shot and killed by police in Ontario last summer.

• Aaron Driver: Troubled childhood, ISIS supporter, terror threat suspect

Driver hadbeen in and out of the Manitoba Courts complex in Winnipeg several times in the previous year.

"That brought it home for every single officer. Here was a person who had the means and the attitudeto do it," the source said.

The risk to sheriffs was also front and centre in August when a small package exploded outside the Manitoba Courts complex in Winnipeg.

• Small explosion rattles people in downtown Winnipeg

Curtin says the recruits all went through enhanced security screening and Manitoba Justice is not concerned they still have the uniforms.

"We feel confident we are actually going to bring these recruits on at the conclusion of the appropriate financial analysis and so we are not concerned if they have uniforms," Curtin said. "If we decide not, for any reason, decide not togo through with the recruitment, we'll get those back."

Sheriffs are a frontline service: MGEU

The class delaysare also a concern to the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union, says MGEU president Michelle Gawronsky.

"These are folks that might have quit other jobs to go into this service for Manitobans; for keeping Manitobans safe and suddenly out of the blue it's stopped. Even an explanation [is lacking] we are still trying to figure out what happened," Gawronskysaid.

Gawronsky says postponing the classaffects current sheriffs, in terms of their hours of work, scheduling vacation time and sick leave.

"If you getup in the morning and you are not feeling well, do you call in sick and force your colleagues to work short or do you go in sick and maybe make your colleagues sick?" Gawronskyasked.

Gawronskysaysnot adding staff to departments that need them isessentially a cut. She believes sheriffs are a front-line service that Premier Brian Pallister has promised to protect.

Shauna Curtinagrees thatsheriffs provide afront-line service but says the department will prioritise staffuntil the government makes a decision on the recruitment class. She expects that decision imminently.

Justice Minister Heather Stefanson was not available for comment.