Bruce-Grey Owen Sound MPP Bill Walker continues to push to keep the Owen Sound and Walkerton Jails open.
Walker — along with Sarnia MPP and Conservative Critic for Correctional Services Bob Bailey — toured the Owen Sound facility on Saturday this morning.
Walker says he wanted to give Bailey an opportunity to have a look at the 100-year-old Owen Sound jail — so he could weigh in on the proposed closure.
Walker tells Bayshore Broadcasting News the Owen Sound jail is in need of upgrades — but he’s not convinced it would be cheaper to transfer inmates to Penetang rather than fix the aging facility.
Walker says he is also growing frustrated with the lack of a formal cost proposal from Queen’s Park.
Walker notes there are still unanswered questions regarding the costs associated with transporting prisoners.
And he says when you factor in winter driving and other expenses — it doesn’t make sense.
Walker adds the next step is to try and table a resolution at Queen’s Park — in an attempt to get a moratorium put on the closures until the costs are divulged.
He says he’ll have the support of Huron Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson and Bob Bailey so hopefully the government will listen.
The Walkerton and Owen Sound jails are slated for closure on December 4th.
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SARNIA Today, Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey announced that after seven long months he has finally received the Sarnia Jail Freedom of Information Request which was originally requested on April 26, 2011. At a press conference held outside the Sarnia Jail, MPP Bailey and Members of the Sarnia Save the Jail Committee, unveiled the results produced by the Freedom of Information Branch at the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (MCSCS).
The over two hundred page document provides almost no financial information used by the Ministry to close the Jail. What the document does include is a seemingly endless series of internal emails attempting to justify the decision after it was announced. These emails detail Ministry officials back peddling to create talking points that address the legitimate concerns raised in the Sarnia-Lambton community. Unfortunately nowhere in the FOI does the Ministry provide the much sought after cost-benefit analysis.
The Freedom of Information Request proves what we have known all along, the Liberal Government has no numbers to support the closing of the Sarnia Jail, said Bailey. This FOI Request basically suggests that the Ministry did not conduct a cost-benefit analysis before deciding to close the Sarnia Jail. Instead Dalton McGuinty has used the Ministry to spin his decision, moving both jobs and money to Windsor.
In order to get MCSCS to finally release the FOI, last month MPP Bailey had to ask the Ombudsman of Ontario and the Information Privacy Commissioner to launch investigations into the conduct of the Ministry.
Major Concerns:
The FOI request reveals that a cost-benefit analysis was not used by the Ministry to justify the closing of the Sarnia Jail;
The Ministry of Corrections openly admits that they had no contact or consultation with anyone from the Sarnia-Lambton community, prior to, or since the closing of the Sarnia Jail;
The Ministry claims that it will be cheaper to transport prisoners to Windsor through the OPP but admit that they have not completed a proper assessment regarding how much additional costs will be;
The FOI request revealed that there has been absolutely no consideration of the special services which are unique to Sarnia, such as local initiatives like the GLADUE Court, which was developed in Sarnia by the leaders of our First Nations Community, in the aftermath of the Ipperwash Inquiry;
The full Freedom of Information Request is available online at: www.bobbaileympp.com
