Ontario adding 150 more jail beds in Niagara, Milton, Sudbury

Ontario’s solicitor general says the province is adding 150 beds to three jails across the province using modular construction.

Michael Kerzner made the announcement Thursday at the Niagara Detention Centre, which will expand by 50 spaces, as will the Vanier Centre for Women in Milton, and the Cecil Facer Youth Centre in Sudbury, which is also being converted to an adult facility.

Construction is expected to begin next year and cost the province more than $180 million.

The announcement comes not long after the province’s ombudsman raised concerns about an overcrowding “crisis” in Ontario’s correctional facilities, saying some are operating at more than 150 per cent of their capacity, compromising safety for inmates and staff alike.

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Premier Doug Ford has also recently been pushing the federal government for stricter bail laws and urging judges and justices of the peace not to let violent, repeat offenders out on bail when they are charged with a new crime.

Provincial jails hold people accused of a crime but not out on bail, as well as those serving sentences of two years less a day, but the vast majority fit into the first category and have not been convicted.