Ontario’s Solicitor General says the province will expand its jails by 2,500 beds over the next 10 years, at a cost of $3 billion.
On Thursday, Minister Michael Kerzner spoke to Quinte News, fresh off his announcement in Toronto.
He says part of the focus is to make meaningful bail reform changes.
“We’re not going take our foot off the gas on this at all. The federal government has come forward with changes that needed to be made. It is to cause a deterrent for repeat and violent offenders from reoffending.”
Recent data shows the province’s jails are bursting, with the average jail capacity for 2025 at 127 per cent.
“You have the Quinte Detention Centre and we’ve said, I’ve been out there, that we were going to expand the original contemplated numbers by quite a bit. In addition to what we have already said, we’re going to add another 1,130-plus beds into the system.”
Kerzner says they will use modular components to build some jails and will use tensile structures for others in an effort to keep costs down.
