Ontario's corrections minister came under fire over an apparent drug overdose at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre that left one inmate dead and another in hospital.
During question period at Queen's Park on Tuesday, London-Fanshawe New Democrat MPP Teresa Armstrong accused the Liberal government of failing to keep drugs from entering provincial jails.
"I've been asking this government to take action on the problems faced by the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre for years now. From overcrowding to lack of support for corrections officers, this government has remained silent, and now one man is dead and another is in critical condition due to a drug overdose," said Armstrong.
A 27-year-old inmate died on Monday after he and his cellmate were found without vital signs at EMDC.
Armstrong touched on the eight other deaths at EMDC since 2007. She asked why the government has not implemented past recommendations from coroner's inquests into previous deaths.
Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services David Orazietti was quick to highlight the government's promise to install new body scanners in all 26 adult correctional facilities in Ontario by 2018.
"We are acting to do everything we can to ensure we reduce any type of contraband entering our jails," Orazietti said. "We are the first jurisdiction in this country to put full body scanners into our institutions."
The scanners are able to detect ceramic weapons and drugs hidden inside body cavities. When the province announced the scanners in May, EMDC was supposed to be among the first 11 facilities to receive one. At this point, the EMDC’s regional intermittent centre has been equipped with one while the main facility remains without one.
Orazietti also noted the addition of 72 new corrections staff since 2013 and 24-hour nursing coverage as critical government investments in EMDC.
