Ontario is adding 150 new jail beds. Experts say they aren't enough to address overcrowding

Arrthy Thayaparan · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 17, 2025 5:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Ontario's solicitor wide says the state is adding 150 beds to 3 jails crossed the state utilizing modular operation — a "Band-Aid" solution, experts say, that doesn't bash capable to code overcrowding. 

The announcement comes not agelong aft the province's ombudsman raised concerns astir an overcrowding "crisis" successful Ontario's correctional facilities, saying immoderate are operating astatine much than 150 per cent of their capacity, compromising information for inmates and unit alike.

Solicitor General Michael Kernzer said Thursday that the concern was not conscionable astir caller beds oregon buildings, but a connection to criminals from Ford's "tough-on-crime government." 

"If you perpetrate a convulsive transgression successful Ontario, you volition beryllium caught, you volition beryllium prosecuted, and you volition beryllium locked up," helium said. 

Kernzer made the announcement Thursday astatine the Niagara Detention Centre, which volition grow by 50 spaces, arsenic volition the Vanier Centre for Women successful Milton, and the Cecil Facer Youth Centre successful Sudbury, which is besides being converted to an big facility.

Construction is expected to statesman adjacent twelvemonth and outgo the state much than $180 million.

While Kernzer said the concern would uplift a "strained and overburdened" correctional system, experts and radical who woody with Ontario's correctional institutions say the state needs to prosecute much staff, alleviate overcrowding successful jails and money community-based solutions. 

"Realistically determination request to beryllium hundreds and hundreds much beds if we are going to genuinely effort and dainty radical with a modicum of dignity and humanity," said defence lawyer Alison Craig, who works with galore clients presently in provincial jails.

The ombudsman's June report found a "state of crisis" successful the province's jails, proceeding complaints astir a scope of issues, from predominant lockdowns to overcrowding. In immoderate cases, the study found three inmates were bunking successful cells made for two.

More beds, modern institutions needed: national rep

Janet Laverty, seat of the ministry worker relations committee for Ontario Public Services Employees Union, which represents corrections officers, says the caller beds are a "medium-term solution" to assistance modernize facilities. 

"There are nary elemental fixes to these challenges," she said, saying appropriate staffing resources volition beryllium added erstwhile the expansions are operational. 

"The world is we request much beds crossed our system. More beds means we request caller and modern correctional institutions and gathering caller institutions takes time."

Premier Doug Ford has besides precocious been pushing the national authorities for stricter bail laws and urging judges and justices of the bid not to fto violent, repetition offenders retired connected bail erstwhile they are charged with a caller crime.

Provincial jails clasp radical accused of a transgression but not retired connected bail, arsenic good arsenic those serving sentences of 2 years little a day, but advocates person pointed retired the immense bulk acceptable into the archetypal class and person not been convicted.

Staffing, assemblage solutions much important, accidental others

Craig says astir each of her clients are "triple-bunking" successful choky cells and overcrowding is simply a interest successful each of the province's facilities.

She says earlier beds are added astatine facilities, the state needs to address under-staffing.

"The conditions astatine each of the jails astatine the infinitesimal are perfectly inhumane," she said.

"What they request to put successful is radical to marque the beds that we presently person livable and past aft that is addressed, possibly further beds is the adjacent step."

Stacey Hannem, criminology prof astatine Wilfred Laurier University, says the caller beds hardly alleviate issues successful the correctional system. 

She says the state needs to archetypal code the basal causes of transgression and money communities to negociate intelligence health, substance usage and entree to housing.

"Throughout history, you look astatine periods of economical crises and periods of large disparity and inevitably that leads to much radical coming into struggle with the law," Hannem said.

"My archetypal thought is that 150 beds crossed the Ontario strategy is similar putting a Band-Aid connected a elephantine gaping wound," she said.