Ontario to build and modernize four correctional facilities

Ontario is building and modernizing four correctional facilities in eastern Ontario.

On Thursday, Premier Doug Ford said the new construction and building upgrades will update facilities, address issues of overcrowding, and create new spaces for the delivery of mental health services, inmate programming, and staff training.

“Our frontline correctional staff have been absolute champions throughout the pandemic, putting their communities first and keeping all of us safe,” said Ford.

“By making these important investments in Eastern Ontario, we will upgrade our corrections infrastructure, better protect our correctional officers, and contribute to our economic recovery through these new construction projects.”

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According to the province, the modernization strategy for the Ontario Eastern Region includes the following:

• Building a new Greater Ottawa Correctional Complex on an existing government-owned site in Kemptville to improve staff and inmate safety.
• Replacing the Brockville Jail, which was built in 1842 and is currently the oldest in the province, with a new facility that will increase capacity and improve access to services and programming.
• Expanding the St. Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Centre and Quinte Detention Centre to improve mental health services for women who are incarcerated and add capacity.
• Renovate the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre to better accommodate programming for inmates.

“The Ontario government is making a substantial investment that will transform the corrections system in Eastern Ontario,” Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said.

“Modernizing outdated infrastructure and building new facilities will create a better and safer environment for our hard-working frontline staff and address overcrowding in many of our institutions.”

The Eastern Region Strategy builds on the government’s plan to invest $500 million over five years to modernize correctional facilities and support frontline corrections officers across the province, including the hiring of more than 500 new correctional staff.