Did you hear about this? Your tax dollars are building... tents?
Good morning from the Hammer — steel town, art town, your town. Don't look away.
So listen, the province just dropped this news about adding 2,500 new jail beds, right? And you'd think, okay, more space, maybe deal with the mess of people getting accidentally released, like the three still missing that Doug Ford talked about. But here's the kicker: part of this $3-billion plan involves something called 'tensile structures.' You know, like giant tents. For inmates. It's happening.
### What Does This Even Mean?
My first thought, and I'm sure yours too if you're from the Mountain, is what in the *svet* is going on? We're talking about a serious budget to fix a serious problem – jails are overcrowded, people are getting out by mistake, and the system is clearly stretched thin. But 'tensile structures'? That sounds like something you'd see at a summer fair, not a long-term solution for housing people in the correctional system. You wonder what kind of quality that means, right? And how much good that's going to do for anyone actually trying to turn their life around.
* The province says it's a "cost-effective" way to increase capacity. * It's part of a $3-billion strategy to overhaul the correctional system. * They're also looking at building traditional facilities, but these 'tensile structures' are definitely part of the mix.
For us here in Hamilton, with the Barton Street jail always a topic of conversation, and the constant struggles we see with housing and addiction down by James North, this feels a bit off. We've got real issues that need real solutions, not just temporary fixes that sound like they're just pushing the problem somewhere else. It makes you wonder if anyone in Toronto actually understands what's happening on the ground here, or if they just see us as a place to stick a temporary structure. We deserve better than a quick-fix tent solution for such a fundamental problem.
Sonja Kovačević-Mountain, MiTL Sports Desk, out.
The morning crew at mornings.live is probably having a field day with this one. Tune in!