In December of 2015, I toured the aging Thunder Bay District Jail. The nearly century-old jail had recently been the scene of a riot that led to a correctional officer being taken hostage – 70 inmates took control of the upper floor for a period of 20 hours.
In Ontario, assaults on correctional officers and other staff have more than doubled over the past seven years.
Last year, a report by the Independent Advisor on Corrections Reform described shocking abuse and disorder in Ontario’s detention centres – centres that are overcrowded and violent.
After violent incidents, inmates are often held in solitary confinement without access to rehab programs, and lockdowns are often the only recourse because of short staffing.
Much of the violence in Ontario’s detention centres is derived from smuggled weapons and drugs – but officers are restricted in their ability to conduct searches.
Front-line officers tell us they feel they are in danger – they are outnumbered, and they have little recourse when they’re attacked.
Ontario’s probation and parole system is a joke — that’s exactly what criminals have called it. Our probation and parole officers are not to blame. In many cases, they are actively discouraged from checking up on criminals by making house visits because of insufficient resources. Offenders are often left to self-report but, obviously, very few do.
Over 45,000 former inmates are out on parole or probation being forced to self-report. And 60 per cent of these individuals are deemed medium to high risk, that’s 27,000 individuals free to roam our province.
How can this out of touch government make the claim that our communities are safe?
Why did this current government allow this to happen? That’s the question that needs to be asked.
The present provincial government recently introduced Bill 6, to supposedly deal with the issue. But this government has a history of producing incomplete, skeletal and poorly-thought-out legislation, and Bill 6 is no exception. The Correctional Services Transformation Act is supposed to be a thorough overhaul of a broken correctional system, but it has the same deficiencies as most other legislation of late.
Obviously, the Liberals are inclined to think more bureaucracy is a solution to every problem, but more paper-pushing isn’t going to solve that problem.
Minor tinkering isn’t going to fix the crisis in corrections. The government must take serious and thorough action.
Has this government decided that the needs and wants of incarcerated criminals are more important than the rights of correctional officers and the order and safety of our detention centres are secondary to making criminals feel comfortable. Obviously, this legislation – Bill 6 — must be compliant with the written portion of our Constitution and our common-law traditions. But it must be said corrections officers and all prison staff have rights as well.
As my colleague MPP Rick Nichols, our critic for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services has been saying, there has been a crisis in corrections for years in the making. Now with an election looming, the Liberals want us to believe — with Bill 6 — they’re experiencing a deathbed conversion. For the Silo, Toby Barrett, MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk.
Bail reform is long overdue
Like all Ontarians, I am horrified, shocked, and saddened by the uptick in violent crime over the past year. My heart goes out to the survivors and families and friends of the victims.
These terrible events have prompted the provincial government to ask the federal government for bail reform. I wholeheartedly support the government’s request.
Every time I’m faced with another violent news item, I ask myself, how many victims does it take for the federal government to act?
In an ideal world, there would be no victims of violence. This is not reality, though, and as the number of incidents grow, so too do the numbers of victims. Victims and their families often feel betrayed when the perpetrator is allowed out on bail.
The tragic December 27th shooting of Haldimand County OPP officer, Constable Greg Pierzchala is still echoing through people’s minds. In fact, a bike ride in his honour was held last weekend in Dunnville.
His death in the line of duty was avoidable.
Randall McKenzie, who was charged with Constable Pierzchala’s death, was on bail at the time of the shooting. He was charged with gun-related offences and was under multiple weapons bans. I believe Constable Pierzchala would be alive today had the justice system held McKenzie in custody.
And there are sadly more examples from which I can draw.
Take Gabriel Magalhaes, he was murdered in March in a Toronto subway station. Again, it turns out the alleged perpetrator was on the streets, wanted for violating probation, but roaming free.
Not wanting to be Toronto-centric, but it should be noted that, at writing, Toronto has seen 12 homicides in 2023 and half the suspects were out on bail, parole, or probation. Of course, we well know this isn’t limited to the GTA, this is in Haldimand-Norfolk and across Canada.
One murder is too many. And one that happens because a lax system allowed a violent, unstable person out to hurt others or themselves, is heart breaking and frustrating. It also creates mayhem and unsafe working conditions for those in uniform.
For months, I’ve been receiving emails, telephone calls, and private messages from Ontarians who are also heart broken and angry. I penned a column on the subject in January, calling on all levels of government to make the necessary changes. I spent weeks speaking to media about this following December’s tragedy.
I suggested to one reporter the day after the shooting if government was aggressive with criminals as it is with law-abiding gun owners, we would have less violent crime.
On a positive note, I’m pleased to report that on April 5th, the government passed Solicitor General Michael Kerzner’s motion asking the federal government to reform the Criminal Code of Canada and immediately “implement meaningful bail reform.” In short, Ontario is leading the call to get the federal government to put repeat violent offenders in jail and keep them in jail until they are duly tried in a court of law.
Minister Kerzner has since stated that he hopes the federal government listens to the motion and quickly acts to strengthen bail reform. That day can’t come soon enough.
Bobbi Ann Brady MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk