Ontario announces $1.2B for Thunder Bay correctional facility as pre-election spending soars

Thunder Bay is getting in on Premier Doug Ford's pre-election spending campaign, with the province promising to spend $1.2 billion to build its long-awaited correctional facility ahead of Thursday's budget address. 

The province announced the funding this week, as part of a $10-billion spending blitz that Ford and his ministers have been rolling out in announcements since early March. 

The Thunder Bay Correctional Complex is planned as a 345-bed facility, replacing the Thunder Bay Jail, which is nearly a century old, and the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre.

Construction is slated to begin this fall, and take about four years, the province said in a news release issued earlier this week. 

EllisDon Construction was earlier awarded the contract to design, build, finance, and maintain the facility, which the government said will include behavioural and mental health housing, improved programming, and better access to natural light and outdoor spaces.

Bill Hayes, president of the Ontario Public Sector Employees Union Local 737, which represents employees at the Thunder Bay Jail, said the correctional complex announcement was "huge."

"A lot of us have been waiting many, many years for that announcement," he said. "Up until now, it's just been a hope and a dream."

"It's nice to see that it's finally here, and I think people are very positive for the future."

Issues at the Thunder Bay Jail have been well-documented. The jail, which also serves as the region's remand centre, constantly deals with overcrowding, and the facility wasn't designed to accommodate programming for inmates, Hayes said.

Hayes referred to the jail as, essentially, a facility for "housing bodies."

"We've had overcrowding for years, and all we've been doing is basically trying to find locations to house inmates throughout the institution, whether that be visiting rooms, interview booths or our admitting-discharge area," he said.

"We just don't have the room, and never mind the time to do any programming or anything like that."

"You're dealing with close to 200 inmates in that small facility," he said. "That's all you can do. That's all you can manage. One little thing throws the whole entire institution off, and we're scrounging for staff, and staff are getting burnt out."

The jail has an official operational capacity of 124 inmates.