BROCKVILLE - Today's announcement by the McGuinty Liberals to halt the construction of a 300-bed correctional treatment unit at the St. Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Centre (SLVCTC) shows that the government is continuing to follow a Tory agenda of public service cuts, OPSEU says.
"This is shameful," said Leah Casselman, President of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. "These beds are desperately needed in the province. You would expect the previous government to not care about the treatment of offenders; the Liberals are supposed to be different."
The 300 medium-security correctional treatment beds and 54 remand beds were supposed to be added to SLVCTC's current 100 secure treatment beds last year. These beds were to replace beds at the Ontario Correctional Institute (OCI) in Brampton and the aging Brockville Jail. Construction on the new beds was continually delayed,
culminating with today's announcement.
"The government's claim that OCI and the Brockville Jail will remain open is just a smoke screen to deflect criticism for this announcement," Casselman said. "OCI is already short 100 beds for treating short-term sentenced sex offenders, so offenders will likely return to the community without receiving any help. The Brockville
Jail is so old it is falling apart. The lives of over 200 experienced staff have been on hold for nearly two years. Premier McGuinty has a strange way of fulfilling his promise to rebuild public services."
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For more information, please contact:
Don Ford, OPSEU Communications (416) 788-9104
Barry Scanlon, OPSEU Corrections Division (416) 459-3826
