Bill 53 explained in plain English
Dignity and Mental Health in Jails Act, 2025
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 44th Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 53, the Dignity and Mental Health in Jails Act, 2025, seeks to amend Ontario's correctional services acts to improve inmate treatment, prohibit segregation, and ensure mental health support units are available.
This bill proposes changes to Ontario's laws regarding correctional institutions. It aims to improve conditions for inmates by focusing on mental health support and prohibiting cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment. Key changes include mandating a minimum percentage of inmate beds in mental health support units in new or renovated facilities, prohibiting segregation (defined as being highly restricted in movement and association for 22 hours or more daily), and establishing an Independent Review Panel to review cases of inmates in restrictive confinement. It also makes violations of these provisions an offence. The bill amends both the Correctional Services and Reintegration Act, 2018 and the Ministry of Correctional Services Act.
- Prohibits cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment of inmates.
- Prohibits specific treatments or punishments like excessive physical restraint, surveillance, sensory deprivation, or withholding necessities for health.
- Requires new and renovated or expanded correctional institutions to have at least 20 percent of inmate beds in mental health support units, with the possibility for regulations to increase this percentage.
- Prohibits holding inmates in conditions that constitute segregation (highly restricted movement and association for 22 hours or more daily).
- Establishes rules for inmates in restrictive confinement (highly restricted movement and association, but less than segregation), ensuring they retain rights and access to programs.
- Requires an Independent Review Panel to review cases of inmates in restrictive confinement and make recommendations.
- Makes contravention of provisions related to inmate treatment and segregation an offence, with potential fines and imprisonment.
- Amends both the Correctional Services and Reintegration Act, 2018 and the Ministry of Correctional Services Act to reflect these changes.
- Inmates in Ontario correctional institutions
- Correctional institution staff (superintendents, officers)
- The Ministry of the Solicitor General (responsible for correctional services)
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council (in relation to establishing correctional institutions)
- The Minister (in relation to renovation or expansion of institutions)
- The public, through the administration of justice and correctional services.
- Correctional institution superintendents must ensure inmates are not held in segregation and are treated in compliance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
- Correctional staff must not administer cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or specific prohibited punishments.
- Inmates in restrictive confinement retain rights and privileges, with access to programs and services.
- New and renovated correctional institutions must allocate at least 20 percent of inmate beds to mental health support units.
- Inmates have the right to be free from segregation and certain harsh treatments.
- There is an obligation to establish an Independent Review Panel for restrictive confinement cases.
- The bill comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent, except for specific sections.
- Sections 1 to 19 come into force on the later of the day section 1 of Schedule 2 to the Correctional Services Transformation Act, 2018 comes into force and the day this Act receives Royal Assent.
- Sections 20 to 25 come into force on the day that is six months after the day this Act receives Royal Assent.
- Offences for contravening provisions related to inmate treatment and segregation can result in fines of up to $100,000.
- The bill mandates the creation of mental health support units in new and renovated facilities, which may involve financial implications for construction and staffing, although specific costs are not detailed in the provided text.
- Contravention of provisions prohibiting cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment, or specific prohibited treatments, is an offence liable to a fine of not more than $100,000 or imprisonment for up to two years, or both.
- Contravention of the duty to ensure inmates are treated in compliance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is an offence liable to a fine of not more than $100,000 or imprisonment for up to two years, or both.
- The exact percentage of inmate beds required in mental health support units beyond the minimum 20 percent can be prescribed by regulation.
- The definition of 'restrictive confinement' is subject to regulations.
- The specific details of the Independent Review Panel's operations, including quorum, composition, and review process, will be governed by regulations.
- The bill applies to both the Correctional Services and Reintegration Act, 2018 and the Ministry of Correctional Services Act, acknowledging that either could be in force, but the precise application in relation to which act is currently in force is not explicitly detailed beyond amendments being made to both.
- The timing for when Section 1 of Schedule 2 to the Correctional Services Transformation Act, 2018 comes into force, which impacts the commencement of sections 1-19, is not specified.
Introduces definitions for 'mental health support unit', modifies rules regarding segregation and restrictive confinement, prohibits cruel and inhumane treatment, and establishes an offence for violations. It also requires new and renovated institutions to include a minimum percentage of beds in mental health support units.
Source: Sections 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Introduces definitions for 'mental health support unit', 'restrictive confinement', and 'segregation'. It adds a new section prohibiting cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment and specific restrictive practices. It also mandates a minimum percentage of inmate beds in mental health support units for new or expanded institutions and establishes rules for restrictive confinement and an Independent Review Panel. It also makes violations an offence.
Source: Sections 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced