Media Advisory - OPSEU VP and NDP MPP to tour Brockville correctional facilities February 13

BROCKVILLE, ON, Feb. 12, 2016 /CNW/ - A regional vice president for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union and the NDP critic for correctional services will tour Brockville Jail and the St. Lawrence Valley Correctional Treatment Centre on February 13 to gain a firsthand look at the crisis facing Ontario's jails.

Gareth Jones, OPSEU's regional vice president for eastern Ontario, and Jennifer French, MPP for Oshawa, will be joined by managers of the facilities and members of OPSEU Local 440.

"The crisis in corrections is a public safety issue," said Jones, who works in correctional services. "Facilities are overcrowded and understaffed. Lockdowns are routine. Too many inmates with mental health illnesses and substance abuse issues are being warehoused without treatment. Violence is not uncommon. Add it up and Ontario has a crisis in corrections."

OPSEU is calling on the Wynne government to earmark $100 million in this year's spring budget to address the crisis in correctional services.

Details

Brockville Jail
Date:	Saturday February 13, 2016
Time:	10 – 12 noon. News conference to follow at main entrance
Location:	10 Wall Street, Brockville
St. Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Centre
Date:	Saturday February 13
Time:	2 – 5 p.m. News conference to follow at main entrance
Location:	1804 Highway 2 East, Brockville

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

Gareth Jones, 613-809-3319