Escalating Prison Violence Set to Worsen, Union Warns

Prison closures could add to problems in already overcrowded facilities.

Kingston Penitentiary in Ontario, Canada’s oldest prison, is slated to close by 2015. The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers is warning that federal prison closures in Ontario and Quebec could lead to overcrowding in other jurisdictions, potentially adding to the escalating violence in penitentiaries across the country. Dana Babcock

A union president is sounding the alarm over the pending closure of penitentiaries in Ontario and Quebec, saying inmates will flood already overcrowded facilities in other jurisdictions and add to escalating violence.

The federal government announced in April that it would close three penitentiaries: the maximum-security penitentiary in Kingston, Ont., the nearby Regional Treatment Centre, and the medium-security Leclerc Institution in Laval, Que.

Kevin Grabowsky, Prairies regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, says the closures, slated to take place in 2014-15, means the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) will see an increase in violent events in prisons.