Correctional service officers from all over Ontario took part in a rally in front of the former Bluewater Centre for Young Offenders on Hwy. 21 south of Goderich this afternoon.
They're asking the province of re-open the centre and bring back the 200 jobs that were lost when it was closed three years ago.
Corrections officer Angela McCool says it doesn't make sense to leave the former Bluewater Centre empty, while overcrowding is an issue in several detention centres throughout the province. She says there is also a desperate need for a women's mental health centre.
"There would have to be some retrofitting. It was maximum-security when it was used so it could easily put in a medium security facility for adults. I don't think it is going to take a lot," says McCool. "It would be a lot less than it would be to spend millions on four more jails in Ontario."
The building was previously a maximum security facility for young offenders.
