Tories flip-flop on U.S.-style private mega-jails

TORONTO – Tory candidates in the Ontario provincial election have flip-flopped on a major criminal justice issue, indicating that three new 1,200-inmate provincial mega-jails will be run on a private, for-profit basis.

"Last October, after intense lobbying by citizens in Lindsay and Penetanguishene, the Tories announced that those mega-jails would be publicly-run," said Barry Scanlon, a Corrections Division spokeperson for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. "All of a sudden, they’ve changed their tune."

Oakville Tory MPP Gary Carr was the first to announce the flip-flop. At an all-candidates’ meeting in Oakville, May 6, Carr said three mega-jails would be private. On May 17, Environment Minister Norm Sterling said the Brockville mega-jail would run just fine once it was privatized. And in Lindsay May 25, Local MPP and Management Board Chair Chris Hodgson dodged the issue, flatly refusing to confirm that the Lindsay mega-jail would be public.

Hodgson told an all-candidates meeting that he wouldn’t give a yes or no answer just to get people’s votes, Lindsay This Week reported.

"Public opinion polls show that Ontarians have zero interest in bringing U.S. style, for-profit jails here," said Scanlon. "The U.S. experience shows that private jails mean more violence inside the facility, more escapes, more danger to the community, less money staying in the community, and less public accountability.

"Privatization of correctional facilities is a major step towards the ongoing sell-off and Americanization of Ontario," he said. "It must become a major issue in this campaign."

– 30 –

Return to Top