Thunder Bay jail and correctional centre to remain in use after new correctional complex opens, says union

The Thunder Bay District Jail and Thunder Bay Correctional Centre won't be shut down when the new Thunder Bay Correctional Complex opens its doors, the unions representing the city's correctional officers said.

The move was announced to staff at the jail and correctional centre on Friday afternoon, and comes due to overcrowding at Thunder Bay correctional facilities, union representatives told CBC News.

"This is definitely a step in the right direction," said Anthony Rojik, correctional officer at the jail and president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 737, which represents the jail. "As we've said many times before and in many interviews ... adding this new facility and then shutting down the two existing ones actually puts us at a negative bed count."

Shawn Bradshaw, president of OPSEU Local 708, which represents the correctional centre, said the overall number of inmates in Ontario correctional facilities has risen sharply in the last decade, from about 8,500 in 2015 to about 12,000 today.

Bradshaw said the decision will create some challenges in terms of ensuring there are enough staff for all three facilities.

"We need to hire an additional, roughly 250 officers without accounting for attrition," he said. "That's not nurses, that's not social workers. That's you'd be looking at probably close to 400 new positions."

Rojik said management, including a superintendent, deputies, and frontline sergeants, will also need to be hired.

"All that's going to have to be found within the next 10 to 18 months, and that's a very large undertaking," Rojik said.

Construction on the new, 345-bed correctional complex, which is being built on Highway 61, is expected to be complete in November, he said.

"We have to have some sort of minimal staffing, obviously, making sure that nothing lights on fire, operating doors and and locks and various other things," Rojik said. "I would expect six to eight months after that we're going to start moving in the inmate population."

Bradshaw said the province also plans to make infrastructure upgrades at the jail and correctional centre.

"We could use some upgrading in various areas of our building," he said. "I can't get into too much of the specifics, but we do have a shortage of space."

Rojik said, meanwhile, at the jail — which will turn 100 years old in 2026 — the province will be installing a new heating unit at the facility, as well as upgrading security measures.

CBC News contacted the Ministry of the Solicitor General for comment on Friday but did not receive a response.