The chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission wants the Ford government to reduce overcrowding at jails in Kenora and Thunder Bay.
Renu Mandhane told pre-budget consultations that relief is needed right away.
“When you have that many people in a facility, staff are kind of pushed to the brink so they are often taking leaves and it’s very hard to provide any form of rehabilitation or health care.”
Mandhane says relief doesn’t have to necessarily come from building new jails, noting the government can work on developing non-institutionalized forms of pre-trial detention.
The mental health needs of inmates is also a top priority for Mandhane.
She says following a visit to the Kenora jail, she found 90% of the population had identified mental health and addictions issues, mostly relating to First Nations inmates.
During a stop to the Thunder Bay facility with Nishnawbe Aski Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler, she found out a psychiatrist visits the jail about twice a month.
She indicates with 150 people being incarcerated any given night there are many “with complex mental health needs.”
Mandhane is also asking for more training for corrections workers and an evaluation of staffing levels.
She notes “These are all things that can be done without investment in infrastructure or legislation. They are ideally things that can be done quickly and I think that there is a cost attached to them but we are paying already for our failures in the system.”
