Ontario Jails

• Lockdowns at Ontario jails caused by staff shortages rising rapidly, data shows

  New data shows the vast majority of the province's correctional facilities are operating with far more inmates than they were designed — and growing staffing problems.

  Politics

  2 hours
  
• Contraband in Ontario’s jails ‘flows like gravy’ as capacity concerns grow

  Hundreds of pages of contraband reports paint a picture of a jail system where illegal drugs, from cocaine to MDMA or fentanyl, are regularly found.

  Crime

  Dec 8, 2025
  
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• Ontario’s jails in ‘growing crisis’ which cannot be ignored ‘any longer’: ombudsman

  Ombudsman Paul Dubé said his office had received a 'staggering' increase in complaints related to correctional facilities, up 55 per cent on the previous year to 6,870.

  Politics

  Jun 25, 2025
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• CRTC looking into inmate phone call rates in Canada following Ontario case

  The CRTC is looking into phone call rates at correctional facilities, spurred by high long-distance charges that families of inmates at Ontario jails had to pay for years.

  Canada

  Jan 30, 2025
• Renovations and modular buildings: Ontario’s plan to add 1K-plus new jail beds

  Over the next seven years, the province plans to add more than 1,000 new beds to its correctional facilities.

  Politics

  Nov 6, 2024
• ‘Shockingly high’: Bell got $64M from Ontario jail calls at issue in lawsuit

  Bell Canada made more than $64 million in gross revenues from calls made by inmates at Ontario jails — at "exorbitant" rates, lawyers allege in a lawsuit.

  Canada

  Aug 9, 2024
• Ontario alone in locking down inmates due to staff shortages: lawsuits

  Ontario is the only province where inmates are regularly locked down due to staff shortages, according to expert evidence in a pair of class-action lawsuits.

  Crime

  Jul 3, 2024
• Ford government to add hundreds of beds to its overcrowded, overflowing jails

  Solicitor General Michael Kerzner says the province will add several hundred spots throughout the system.

  Canada

  Jun 10, 2024
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• Doug Ford promises to build as many jails as needed to keep criminals behind bars

  Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his government will build as many jails as needed to keep criminals behind bars "for a long time."

  Crime

  Mar 8, 2024
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• Ontario jail inmate numbers spike in last year, now well over capacity, data shows

  An overwhelming 81 per cent of inmates, according to the Ontario government, are being held awaiting trial and presumptively innocent.

  Canada

  Mar 6, 2024