THUNDER BAY - The state of the Thunder Bay District Jail is a primary focus in an open letter sent by Opposition Leader Patrick Brown to Premier Kathleen Wynne.
The letter was released Monday afternoon, urging Wynne and her provincial Liberal government to act on what Brown, the leader of the Progressive Conservatives, says is a "crisis in correctional services."
Brown described Ontario jails as "overcrowded, understaffed and increasingly violent."
He specifically references his visit to the Thunder Bay District Jail last week, surveying damage after a Dec. 7 riot and hostage taking of a correctional officer at the facility.
Brown wrote the conditions were "deplorable" with "archaic" security condtions and said the building does not meet the needs of the inmate population.
He said the Thunder Bay jail is not the only one across Ontario to be in crisis, citing incidents at the Toronto South Detention Centre.
The letter comes just a few days after correctional officers, who are represented by the Ontario Public Sector Employees Union, filed a no-board report against the government, which would put nearly 6,000 correctional officers in a legal strike position in January.
