Brendan Kennedy

Inside the many lies told by Maplehurst jail officials trying to cover up the ‘torture’ of inmates The deceit ranged from serious attempts to conceal what happened, to absurd, easily disprovable lies that left an Ontario judge stunned.

We've made Justice Conlan's full decision available on our website. You can read and download it at the bottom of this story: www.thestar.com/news/investi...

The Maplehurst inmate abuse scandal led to the collapse of a murder case. Now, other ‘serious’ criminal charges will likely be tossed The Ford government, which has been largely silent on the jail staff's conduct, had a “serious lack of proper oversight" over Maplehurst, judge said.

The Maplehurst inmate abuse scandal led to the collapse of a murder case. Now, other serious criminal charges will likely be tossed.

Meanwhile, Solicitor General Michael Kerzner has remained conspicuously silent.

On the fallout from Justice Conlan's decision:
www.thestar.com/news/investi...

I'm also very proud of my friend for her resilience & her persistence in pursuing an effective treatment. She has been battling so hard for so long. I know this isn't a factor in whether or not DBS will work for her, but she (and others in the same position) deserve to feel better.

I would read Anna write about watching grass grow, so I highly recommend her fascinating - and funny! - piece on her latest attempt to overcome treatment-resistant depression: deep brain stimulation. Great presentation, too.

Inside the many lies told by Maplehurst jail officials trying to cover up the ‘torture’ of inmates The deceit ranged from serious attempts to conceal what happened, to absurd, easily disprovable lies that left an Ontario judge stunned.

The torturous abuse of inmates was only part of why an Ontario judge threw out 1st-degree murder charges last week. His ruling makes clear the decision was as much about the attempted coverup & how jail staff further lied in court.
I took a deeper look at those lies:
www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Opinion: Could a device implanted in my brain cure my depression? I was ready to find out Over the past 14 years, I’ve often fantasized about some scan revealing the locus of my mood disorder. Now, we were as close as we’d likely ever get

I got experimental brain surgery. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Joey Votto: The 1993 Blue Jays changed my childhood. The 2025 team is poised to do that for a new generation To say the early '90s Blue Jays were impactful during my life would be an understatement. It’s hard for me to see players from that roster and not become giddy

Joey Votto, writing in the @thestar.com, about the last time the Jays were here.

"My memory is of a dark living room, a wood-grained box TV & the bang of a screen door. My parents, my younger brother & I were sitting around the television with the rest of the city."
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Ontario judge throws out murder charges over Maplehurst jail guards’ abuse of inmates and attempted coverup. ‘The unthinkable has come to pass.’ The stay of murder charges marks the most serious consequence of the prisoner abuse scandal, which continues to imperil criminal cases across Ontario.

Ontario judge throws out first-degree murder charges against three former Maplehurst inmates, saying the collective punishment they suffered in jail was akin to torture, and the jail's attempts to cover up what happened amounted to egregious state misconduct.
www.thestar.com/news/investi...

A thread of recent @thetrillium.bsky.social reporting on the Skills Development Fund. #onpoli

“The CCLA and countless others have repeatedly called on the federal government to collect national standardized data about bail to inform any reforms. Despite three successive Ministers of Justice recognizing the need for this data, today’s reforms again signal no effort to collect it. How can we evaluate something we do not measure?”

Canada's government presented no evidence justifying making bail harder to get in its briefing today. @cancivlib.bsky.social's Shakir Rahim says the data isn't there.

I fell ill in illinois

‘Mr. X’ claims Minister David Piccini tipped him off about Greenbelt removals John Mutton made the claim in an interview with the integrity commissioner and then on a podcast. The minister denied it through a spokesperson

NEW: ‘Mr. X’ claims Minister David Piccini tipped him off about Greenbelt removals
John Mutton made the claim in an interview with the integrity commissioner and then on a podcast. The minister denied it through a spokesperson.
www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...

Statement from the president of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to Egypt:

“It is unprecedented that Canadian media be entirely excluded from a Canadian prime minister’s foreign trip.”

Labour minister was in Leafs glass seats with director of company he granted funding to The ‘lower-scoring’ company got $7.5M of tax dollars through David Piccini’s office and is a client of the lobbyist whose Parisian wedding the minister recently attended

ICYMI: Months before he was labour minister, David Piccini was in Leafs glass seats with a director of a company he later granted $7.5M to.

Piccini attended the Parisian wedding of the company’s lobbyist.

From me and @charliepinkerton.bsky.social.

#onpoli

www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...

Ontario’s jail conditions are inhumane and disgraceful, judges say. Criminals are serving shorter sentences as a result As the premier calls for bail reforms that would see more people locked up while awaiting trial, Ontario’s jails are “in a state of growing crisis.”

All of this contributes to the inhumane conditions that judges have been decrying for years and have led to reduced sentences.

What I tried to show with this story is that it's not just Maplehurst, Toronto South or a handful of jails. The problems are everywhere.

www.thestar.com/news/investi...

The overcrowding leads to more triple-bunking, more lockdowns and more violence, both between inmates and against staff.

The union representing correctional officers said when jails are this overcrowded it’s challenging to “maintain a safe environment.”

While Doug Ford's government continues to call for bail reforms that would see more people incarcerated while awaiting trial, Ontario's jails are more overcrowded than they've ever been. The province is holding 2,000 more people than its jails were built to hold. Several jails are >130% capacity.

Ontario’s jail conditions are inhumane and disgraceful, judges say. Criminals are serving shorter sentences as a result As the premier calls for bail reforms that would see more people locked up while awaiting trial, Ontario’s jails are “in a state of growing crisis.”

Forgive the repost, but I wanted to share once more our story on the systemic, inhumane jail conditions occurring across Ontario, and the consequences of those conditions for inmates, staff and the entire judicial system.

www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Premier Ford has called for bail reforms that would see more people incarcerated while awaiting trial, at the same time that the province's jails have never been more overcrowded. The most recent data I obtained via FOI shows Ont jails are holding about 2000 more inmates than they were built for.

Ontario’s jail conditions are inhumane and disgraceful, judges say. Criminals are serving shorter sentences as a result As the premier calls for bail reforms that would see more people locked up while awaiting trial, Ontario’s jails are “in a state of growing crisis.”

Most of my reporting on jail conditions this year has focused on Maplehurst in Milton. But the dysfunction in Ontario's jails is system-wide. Today's story shows how the inhumane conditions across the province impact staff, inmates & the judicial system as a whole. www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Province Invests $1.3 Billion in New Schools—Just Not in Toronto | The Local The Tories will fund 45 school building projects across the province—and not a single one in the TDSB, the biggest board in the province. Critics say the opaque process puts politics over students.

This morning at 8 am, my child's teacher told me it was already 33 C inside the classroom. Members of the Ontario government have air conditioning in their offices, yet they're not doing basic repairs in Toronto schools, let alone protecting our kids from extreme heat. thelocal.to/ontario-educ...

How this Toronto organization is helping LGBTQ refugees avoid the U.S. Rainbow Railroad, a global non-profit based in Toronto dedicated to support persecuted LGBTQ people, says it relocated 300 queer refugees last year.

"Since January alone, the organization said it has relocated to Canada 70 queer refugees who were originally bound for the United States."

@thestar.com's Nathan Bawaan on Toronto-based Rainbow Railroad:
www.thestar.com/news/gta/how...

Gabor Maté: What is happening in Gaza is an injury to our collective conscience. We must be allowed to speak out It is the issue of our time. Silence is not an option.

Gabor Mate for the Star: www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Carney government clarifies Canadian border bill’s asylum changes as critics call for complete withdrawal Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act, would restrict access to asylum, expand surveillance of migrants and citizens alike, critics say.

Carney government clarifies Canadian border bill’s asylum changes as critics call for complete withdrawal

Ontario government facing lawsuits from inmates over ‘unconscionable conduct’ by Maplehurst jail guards The lawsuits mark a widening fallout from the violent incident, which has already compromised dozens of criminal prosecutions.

NEW: Ontario's government is facing a slew of lawsuits, including a proposed class-action, from former Maplehurst inmates subject to a brutal collective punishment in December 2023.
www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Ontario Ombudsman to probe complaints of province’s response to Maplehurst guards’ crackdown on inmates The latest investigation followed the Ministry of Solicitor General's two internal investigative reports that found widespread institutional failure at the jail located in Milton.

Ontario's Ombudsman is launching a new investigation into the Ministry of the Solicitor General's response to the December 2023 collective punishment incident at Maplehurst "due to significant public concerns about transparency, accountability and inmates’ rights."
www.thestar.com/news/canada/...

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Hot days at work can be dangerous — even deadly. The Ford government said it would protect workers. But here’s what’s happening An analysis of 13 years of critical injury data obtained by the Star shows heat poses a growing threat

If you have some time today to spend on in-depth reporting, great writing & fantastic presentation, spend it with this Kate Allen & Nathan Pilla story about how more workers are critically injured as the temperature rises. www.thestar.com/interactives...

Hours of audio and video evidence is missing from Maplehurst guards’ crackdown on inmates The missing footage, which some jail staff allege was purposely destroyed, has fueled calls for a public inquiry into the violent incident.

NEW: Hours of audio and video evidence is missing from Maplehurst's crackdown on inmates in December 2023.

The missing footage, which some jail staff allege was purposely destroyed, has fueled calls for a public inquiry into the violent incident.

www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Our latest on the Maplehurst scandal focuses on the number of criminal prosecutions that have been compromised by the mass strip search and collective punishment of inmates, who are receiving reduced sentences or other judicial remedies because the jail violated their Charter rights.