Ontario adding hundreds of inmate beds to address overcrowded jails

The Ontario government has unveiled plans to add hundreds of beds to its overloaded corrections system by reopening intermittent detention centres at jails in London and Toronto, and hiring up to 200 new correctional staff.

The move aims to address issues of overcrowding at Ontario jails, a majority of which were over capacity in 2023, according to a recent Canadian Press report.

At Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC) in London and Toronto South Detention Centre, the province said it would repurpose and reopen intermittent detention centres at the facilities for minimum- and medium-risk inmates.

The move will add up to 430 beds by 2026, the province says.

Elsewhere, the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee will be expanded to add inmate programming and female capacity, including 18 new beds, the province said.

The planned Brockville Correctional Complex, one of two new jails the government is building in eastern Ontario, will also see its capacity more than doubled with 184 additional beds, according to the announcement.

More than 200 additional corrections staff will be hired to support the capacity increases, "which could include nurses, correctional officers, and support staff," the province said.

Premier Doug Ford pledged in March to build more jails to deal with an influx of inmates, the vast majority of whom are innocent and awaiting trial.

Numbers obtained by The Canadian Press last year found that, overall, Ontario jails were operating at 113 per cent capacity as of Sept. 30, 2023, with an average of 8,889 people incarcerated, well over the  7,848 person capacity.