The Ontario government says it has found a way to add some 2,500 new beds to its jail system over the next decade by adding new beds to existing facilities, rescoping planned projects and adding temporary or modular structures.
On Thursday afternoon, Solicitor General Michael Kerzner unveiled the new, $3 billion strategy amidst growing capacity concerns across the provincial correctional facility.
“Together, building on the significant capacity already brought online and the projects previously announced, this represents an over 24 per cent increase over the current capacity, bringing the total number of beds in the system up to 13,153,” he told reporters.
Through the announcement, the government said it would add 255 new permanent beds at existing facilities by November this year, as well as 1,703 beds later by reworking the scope of current procurements and 610 beds through “rapid builds” on the grounds of existing jails.
Among the changes will be a move to add what the government is referring to as “tensile structures” on the grounds of current jails.
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The massive, tent-like buildings will be secure, Kerzner said, adding one has already been set up.
“They’re not tents,” he told reporters. “It’s a tensile membrane which is almost a permanent structure. You can see one that exists now in the London Elgin Middlesex jail.”
As Global News previously reported, part of the plan will include retrofitting some jails designed to host two inmates and adding a third bunk.
That policy, which will essentially make the controversial practise of triple-bunking the norm in some facilities, has been criticized by one advocate for moving the goal posts.
“They are adding this third bunk in a cell that isn’t likely to be designed for having three people in the cell, other than having a couple extra screws in the wall,” Justin Piché, full-time professor in the University of Ottawa’s department of criminology, told Global News.
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“This is a recipe for increased tension and violence impacting on prison people and staff, which hardly bodes well for community safety down the road. And hardly bodes well for how the courts are going to view this.”
Kerzner said he wasn’t worried that retrofitting to accommodate more inmates would put undue pressure on existing systems like bathrooms or rec rooms.
“As part of any build-out, we’ll make sure there are facilities for the staff and to make sure that the inmates are housed appropriately,” he said.
Documents obtained by The Canadian Press show the province has even grander plans for jails, aiming to add nearly 6,000 jail beds by 2050 at an unknown cost.
Recent data obtained through freedom-of-information laws show the province’s jails are bursting, with the average jail capacity for 2025 at 127 per cent.
— With files from The Canadian Press
Disgusting Ford government.