NDP Justice critic Peter Kormos is calling on the McGuinty Liberals to put the breaks on a plan to close three jails in Southern Ontario this year.
The Owen Sound, Walkerton and Sarnia jails are all slated to close and the impact could be far reaching.
In the Ontario legislature on Monday — Kormos called on the Minister of Correctional Services, Jim Bradley, to put the issue on the back burner until after the fall election.
Kormos tells Bayshore Broadcasting News, he feels Bradley is personally opposed to the plan but is being forced to close the jails by the Premiers’ office.
The Ontario New Democrat MPP says it is bad economic policy because jobs are being lost in already hard hit areas, and it is bad Corrections policy because prisoners will be driven hundreds of kilometres a day for court appearances.
He adds when you move people away from the area they live to a super jail like Penetanguishene, there is very little rehabilitation done and all you are doing is housing them.
Kormos says people need to pressure the Premier and their local MPP including Liberal Carol Mitchell who he says has remained virtually silent on the closing at Walkerton.
Time is quickly running out, as the legislature will rise next month for the summer and won’t return until after the October election.
Early Monday, OPSEU hosted a breakfast briefing at Queens Park on the issue of jail closures.
More than two dozen MPP’s and political aides attended, but Huron Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell and Bruce Grey Owen Sound MPP Bill Murdoch were not there.
OPSEU local 225 President Gerry Hope says it gave the union a timely opportunity to explain how the jail closures will harm the economies of Owen Sound, Walkerton and Sarnia.
