Thunder Bay, Ont., correctional officers honoured by province for actions during 2015 jail riot

A dozen Thunder Bay correctional officers have been honoured by the province for their actions during a jail riot in the northwestern Ontario city in 2015.

The awards, presented this week at the 2017 Corrections Awards ceremony in Toronto, recognized correctional services workers from the Thunder Bay District Jail and Thunder Bay Correctional Centre. The officers were among the 33 from across the province that were feted.

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Minister's awards for bravery went to Thunder Bay jail correctional officer Bill Hayes, as well as members of the Thunder Bay Institutional Crisis Intervention Teams.

The teams include correctional officers Shawn Bradshaw, Mike Bilokryli, Dan Boychuk, Shane Fillier, Scott Giertuga, Warren Giertuga, Raffaeli Tassone, and Scott Wark, as well as provincial bailiff Chris Smagac

Warren Giertuga also received a minister's award for volunteer service, and Sgt. Neil MacDonald and correctional officer Joseph Lozer, both of the Thunder Bay jail, received correctional services awards.

The awards were presented during the sixth-annual correctional services Ceremony of Remembrance, at the future site of the correctional workers' monument near Queen's Park.

A corrections officer was taken hostage by inmates during a riot at the Thunder Bay District Jail in December, 2015.