Of throwing bricks where ideas would be welcome. The Province is so used to Windsor's temper tantrums now that they really don't care any more. They don't even attempt to appease the City because they know it's not worth the time and effort.

New Jail Coveted
Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis appeared to call the province's bluff during a break in a meeting Tuesday of the Windsor Police Services Board, which he chairs.

"If the jail goes to Chatham, we will not cover the cost of prisoner transport -- simple," he told reporters.

A bold challenge by Windsor's Mayor indeed,especially since the Province has revealed that they will be uploading the costs of prisoner transportation beginning in 2012.

"Construction of the South West Detention Centre should start in mid-2010. Phased-in occupancy of the facility will begin by the fall of 2012, while Windsor Jail is expected to close by the end of 2013."

Upload aids city budget
Another significant part of Friday's announcement was Queen's Park also agreeing to take over court security costs and prisoner transportation costs starting in 2012.

Again, the savings for cities such as Windsor will be gradually rolled out until fully taken over by the province in 2018.

In 2008, Windsor will pay $1.2 million in court security costs and another $1 million in prisoner transportation costs.

"Any cost decrease here is a true savings for us," Colucci said.

Not to be outdone, Police Chief Gary Smith wades in with his own little bit of mis-direction:

Police chief Gary Smith said his main concern is the cost of transferring prisoners to and from the local courts.

He said prisoner vans would need to negotiate about 15 traffic lights through busy streets from the site off Walker Road compared to the "two or three" lights that would need to be negotiated were the jail built in Brighton Beach.

I'd be fascinated to see a map of the route from Brighton Beach to the Courthouse that only includes "two or three" traffic lights. On the other hand, considering the Windsor Police aversion to actually stopping at traffic lights, I guess the Chief may be referring to the two or three lights the Police would actually have to stop at without turning on their lights.

If the City does face increased transportation costs in the time between the Province beginning uploading and when things are fully funded, they should be negotiating for the Province to cover the difference in the interim. Along with the new jail, the City should be investigating utilizing new technology to reduce the need for transportation. Video conferencing and other communications technologies should be expanded so that attendance at court by prisoners is reduced to an absolute minimum. Pick a potential route from the new jail site to the current courthouse and lobby the Province for road improvements along that route to facilitate better traffic flows. Negotiate increased transportation funds to expand bus service to the new commercial area where the jail will be built. Instead of throwing bricks and insults, how about a few ideas for a change.

Unfortunately the City's most likely course of action will be continued posturing, a refusal to re-zone the site and threat of a lawsuit. Because that's worked so well for us in the past.

The following was taken from The Watchdog, an e-newsletter produced by Provincial Ombudsman Andre Marin:

Long-term care investigation: 200+ complaints and counting

On July 16, 2008, the Ombudsman launched an investigation into the province’s monitoring of nursing homes and long-term care facilities. More than 200 complaints have come in since the investigation was announced, and more are welcome. The investigation was prompted by increasing public complaints about the quality of care as well as media reports indicating that a significant number of long-term care facilities were not meeting provincial standards. The Ombudsman’s investigation is looking at how the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care monitors the facilities and the effectiveness of the standards themselves. The Special Ombudsman Response Team has been gathering evidence for its report due out in about six months. It’s not too late to make your voice heard. Complaints about longterm care and/or the province’s monitoring system can be made by phone at 1-800-263-1830, mail, fax, or by visiting us online at

File a complaint online

By Phone: Ombudsman Complaints Line 1-800-263-1830
By TTY (teletypewriter): 1-866-411-4211
By Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Or download a complaint form:

• General Complaint Form
• Administrative Tribunal Complaint Form
• Closed Meeting Complaint Form