Inquest exposed inmate health-care failures in Ontario jails that staff, advocates say are widespread – CBC
Union wants province to invest in recruitment, retainment of health-care and correctional staff
Nov 03, 2025
A recently concluded coroner’s inquest into the death of a Wiikwemkoong First Nation man at the Sudbury Jail has drawn attention to what advocates and correctional officers say are long-standing, Ontario-wide failures in correctional health care.
Sara-Jane Berghammer, CEO of the John Howard Society of Sudbury, said she wasn’t surprised by nurses’ testimony about staffing shortages and lack of overnight medical coverage at the jail.
“My initial thoughts are, no, I’m not surprised. This is stuff that’s been happening for as long as I can remember,” Berghammer said. “An inmate’s health is not governed by the Ministry of Health. It’s governed by corrections, and corrections [and] their mandate is care and control. It’s not health.”
Berghammer said her organization regularly hears from inmates and families saying people aren’t receiving medication they were prescribed before entering custody.
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/jails-ontario-healthcare-inmates-inquest-9.6961802
