Latest news with #Dubé
Global News
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Global News
Ombudsman to investigate Ontario jail where inmates were stripped to boxers, had wrists tied
The Ontario ombudsman is launching an investigation into the treatment of inmates at a provincially run jail after an avalanche of complaints from the public and prisoners. The backlash stems from an incident in which inmates were forced to strip down to their underwear and sit, wrists tied, facing a wall. On Monday, Ombudsman Paul Dubé's office said he would be probing the Ministry of the Solicitor General's response to the incident that occurred at Maplehurst Correctional Complex back in December 2023. The facility houses around 1,500 inmates and is rated as medium and maximum security. The incident in question involved a crisis intervention team of correctional officers in part of the Maplehurst jail. During the event, the ombudsman said inmates were stripped down to their boxer shorts and forced to sit on the floor facing the wall, with their wrists zip-tied together. Story continues below advertisement Earlier this year, the Toronto Star released security footage relating to the event, including correctional officers dressed in tactical gear patrolling as inmates sat on the floor. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The ombudsman's office said it had received 60 complaints about the incident, including from some directly involved. They also said several inmates have had their sentences reduced because of the incident. 'Several inmates and members of the public have contacted us to express concerns about the treatment of inmates by the ICIT over two days in December 2023,' Dubé said in a statement. 'The Ministry has already investigated the incident. What my investigation will cover is the steps the Ministry took as a result, and what it is doing to make sure something like this does not happen again.' Global News contacted the Solicitor General's office for comment but did not immediately receive a response. The ombudsman's office said his investigation will look at the government's response and measures that can be put in place to avoid it happening in the future. It will not probe the conduct of individual correctional officers.
Cision Canada
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Cision Canada
Ombudsman to investigate Ontario's response to incident at Maplehurst Correctional Complex Français
Paul Dubé: Significant concerns raised about accountability and inmates' rights TORONTO, June 9, 2025 /CNW/ - Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé today announced a new investigation into the Ministry of the Solicitor General's response to a December 2023 incident at Maplehurst Correctional Complex, due to significant public concerns about transparency, accountability and inmates' rights. The incident involved Maplehurst's Institutional Crisis Intervention Team (ICIT), and its response to an assault on a correctional officer at the complex in Halton Region, which houses nearly 1,500 inmates in medium and maximum security. "Several inmates and members of the public have contacted us to express concerns about the treatment of inmates by the ICIT over two days in December 2023," Mr. Dubé said. "The Ministry has already investigated the incident. What my investigation will cover is the steps the Ministry took as a result, and what it is doing to make sure something like this does not happen again." During the two days that ICIT correctional officers were deployed at Maplehurst, inmates in Unit 8 were stripped to their boxer shorts and forced to sit on the floor and face the wall with their wrists zip-tied, while correctional officers in tactical gear patrolled behind them. Some of these inmates have subsequently had their sentences reduced by judges who have raised concerns about this treatment. In one case, the prosecution acknowledged that an inmate's rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms were violated during the ICIT incident. "When an incident occurs in an Ontario correctional facility that impacts the administration of justice and the rights of inmates, it is imperative that we understand why it happened and what is being done to ensure that it does not recur," the Ombudsman said. The Ombudsman's Office receives thousands of complaints related to correctional services every year, and engages actively with the Ministry of the Solicitor General to address these cases and underlying systemic issues. The Ombudsman received some 60 complaints about the ICIT incident at Maplehurst, including from inmates who were directly involved. Now that the Ministry has had the opportunity to complete its internal investigations of this matter, the Ombudsman has determined that an investigation by his Office is warranted in order to ensure transparency and accountability, and adequate safeguards for the future. The investigation will focus on the Ministry's response to the incident and what safeguards can be put in place to prevent something similar from happening in future. The investigation will not examine personnel or disciplinary matters related to individual correctional staff. Given the significant public interest in this issue, the Ombudsman has committed to completing the investigation as efficiently as possible. Anyone who has information that they believe may be relevant to the investigation is invited to contact Ombudsman Ontario by filing a confidential complaint form at by calling 1-800-263-1830 or emailing [email protected]. Media please note: As this investigation is in its early stages, the Ombudsman will not be available to discuss it publicly. About Ombudsman Ontario: The Ombudsman, established in 1975 to help protect the rights of all Ontarians, is an independent and impartial officer of the Legislature. Under the Ombudsman Act, the Ombudsman reviews and resolves complaints and inquiries from the public about provincial government organizations, as well as French language services, child protection services, municipalities, universities and school boards. The Ombudsman's systemic investigations have prompted widespread reforms benefiting millions of people across the province.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ombudsman to investigate Ontario's response to incident at Maplehurst Correctional Complex
Paul Dubé: Significant concerns raised about accountability and inmates' rights TORONTO, June 9, 2025 /CNW/ - Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé today announced a new investigation into the Ministry of the Solicitor General's response to a December 2023 incident at Maplehurst Correctional Complex, due to significant public concerns about transparency, accountability and inmates' rights. The incident involved Maplehurst's Institutional Crisis Intervention Team (ICIT), and its response to an assault on a correctional officer at the complex in Halton Region, which houses nearly 1,500 inmates in medium and maximum security. "Several inmates and members of the public have contacted us to express concerns about the treatment of inmates by the ICIT over two days in December 2023," Mr. Dubé said. "The Ministry has already investigated the incident. What my investigation will cover is the steps the Ministry took as a result, and what it is doing to make sure something like this does not happen again." During the two days that ICIT correctional officers were deployed at Maplehurst, inmates in Unit 8 were stripped to their boxer shorts and forced to sit on the floor and face the wall with their wrists zip-tied, while correctional officers in tactical gear patrolled behind them. Some of these inmates have subsequently had their sentences reduced by judges who have raised concerns about this treatment. In one case, the prosecution acknowledged that an inmate's rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms were violated during the ICIT incident. "When an incident occurs in an Ontario correctional facility that impacts the administration of justice and the rights of inmates, it is imperative that we understand why it happened and what is being done to ensure that it does not recur," the Ombudsman said. The Ombudsman's Office receives thousands of complaints related to correctional services every year, and engages actively with the Ministry of the Solicitor General to address these cases and underlying systemic issues. The Ombudsman received some 60 complaints about the ICIT incident at Maplehurst, including from inmates who were directly involved. Now that the Ministry has had the opportunity to complete its internal investigations of this matter, the Ombudsman has determined that an investigation by his Office is warranted in order to ensure transparency and accountability, and adequate safeguards for the future. The investigation will focus on the Ministry's response to the incident and what safeguards can be put in place to prevent something similar from happening in future. The investigation will not examine personnel or disciplinary matters related to individual correctional staff. Given the significant public interest in this issue, the Ombudsman has committed to completing the investigation as efficiently as possible. Anyone who has information that they believe may be relevant to the investigation is invited to contact Ombudsman Ontario by filing a confidential complaint form at , by calling 1-800-263-1830 or emailing info@ Aussi disponible en français Media please note: As this investigation is in its early stages, the Ombudsman will not be available to discuss it publicly. About Ombudsman Ontario: The Ombudsman, established in 1975 to help protect the rights of all Ontarians, is an independent and impartial officer of the Legislature. Under the Ombudsman Act, the Ombudsman reviews and resolves complaints and inquiries from the public about provincial government organizations, as well as French language services, child protection services, municipalities, universities and school boards. The Ombudsman's systemic investigations have prompted widespread reforms benefiting millions of people across the province. SOURCE Ombudsman Ontario View original content to download multimedia: Sign in to access your portfolio
Montreal Gazette
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Letters: Health care isn't an assembly line
I think we should be very concerned that Bill 106 proposes to link up to 25 per cent of a doctor's pay to various performance objectives. As a student, I worked on an engine assembly line. The salary was indirectly tied to the number of engines produced. That measure seems reasonable for industrial production. However, I become nervous as a patient when a doctor, in analyzing our health issues, is pressured by performance objectives. Humans are different, and symptoms and conditions are not the same for all. Our daughter graduated almost 10 years ago as a doctor specializing in anesthesiology. Quebec had no residency available for her, but she was offered one in Alberta. She preferred to work instead of waiting another year and hoping for an opening here, so off she went out west. She could come home to Quebec, but would earn less than in Alberta, be chided by politicians to work more, and have no work-life balance. Why should she consider it? Ragnar Radtke, Beaconsfield Democracy in decline under CAQ Re: ' Dubé's bill could push physicians out, doctors warn ' and ' French-language sign rules kick in June 1, and non-compliance penalties are stiff ' (The Gazette, May 28) I wonder just when it was that our governments — and the Coalition Avenir Québec in particular — decided it was their responsibility to arbitrarily impose legislation and regulations onto the backs of taxpayers they purportedly have been elected to represent and serve. Aren't our doctors and retailers significant enough stakeholders in society to be encouraged rather than punished by the province? Unfortunately, under Premier François Legault, Quebec seems to have adopted an Orwellian 'Big Brother knows best' authoritarian mode of government with its unilateral implementation of whatever the CAQ decides is in the best interest of Quebecers. As a result, democracy — famously defined by Abraham Lincoln as 'government of the people, by the people, for the people' — appears to be rapidly disappearing in Quebec. One can only hope that next year's provincial election may help remedy the situation. Eric Bender, Kirkland Grand adventure in art of listening Re: ' N.S. man embarks on 'listening tour' across Canada ' (The Gazette, May 20) As a former oncology social worker at a major teaching hospital in Montreal, I can well appreciate the value of compassionate listening and how it can bring untold benefits to the heart, mind and spirit of someone who desperately needs to be heard. The art of listening is a gift. Too often, people and patients who earnestly wish to express deeply held emotions are cut off by those being spoken to with the offer of deceptive comfort — 'don't worry, everything is going to be all right.' Retired social worker Paul Jenkinson has embarked upon a 'listening tour' across Canada. He creates a safe space and listens to those who need to speak their mind, providing a most meaningful example of catharsis. The Dalai Lama effectively sums up Jenkinson's 'grand adventure' with his quote: 'Love and kindness are not a luxury, but a source of health and happiness for others and ourselves.' Brahms E. Silver, Côte-St-Luc Submitting a letter to the editor Letters should be sent by email to letters@ We prioritize letters that respond to, or are inspired by, articles published by The Gazette. If you are responding to a specific article, let us know which one. Letters should be sent uniquely to us. The shorter they are — ideally, fewer than 200 words — the greater the chance of publication. Timing, clarity, factual accuracy and tone are all important, as is whether the writer has something new to add to the conversation. We reserve the right to edit and condense all letters. Care is taken to preserve the core of the writer's argument. Our policy is not to publish anonymous letters, those with pseudonyms or 'open letters' addressed to third parties. Letters are published with the author's full name and city or neighbourhood/borough of residence. Include a phone number and address to help verify identity; these will not be published. We will not indicate to you whether your letter will be published. If it has not been published within 10 days or so, it is not likely to be.
Hamilton Spectator
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Awkward and weird': Hockey Canada trial sees players' video interviews from 2018 London police investigation
It was a 'weird situation' to have a woman demanding to have sex with his teammates in his hotel room, hockey player Michael McLeod told police in a 2018 interview , which is why he said he constantly checked in with her and recorded her giving consent. London police documents make clear the high-profile sex assault investigation was reopened in 2022 due to 'a resurgence in media attention' — with London police documents make clear the high-profile sex assault investigation was reopened in 2022 due to 'a resurgence in media attention' — with The high-profile Hockey Canada sexual assault trial heard McLeod in his own words for the first time on Tuesday, as his November 2018 video-recorded interview to London police detective Steve Newton was played in court while Newton was testifying as a Crown witness. 'Throughout the night, I was just trying to make sure she was OK with this, because it was a weird situation that I wasn't expecting was going to happen with all the guys coming in,' said McLeod, seated in a room at his Toronto lawyer's office in a white shirt and dark jacket. 'I was just kind of worried something like this might happen.' That's why he took a video of the woman in the room on his phone, in which he asks her if she's 'OK with this' and she says, smiling, that she is. That video has previously been shown at trial , along with a slightly longer video taken later in the night, in which the woman says: 'It was all consensual.' The woman has testified she was just saying what she thought the men wanted to hear . McLeod had met the then-20-year-old complainant, whose identity is covered by a publication ban, at Jack's Bar in London, Ont. and they returned to his room at the Delta Armouries hotel where they had consensual sex in the early hours of June 19, 2018. But then multiple members of the 2018 Canadian world junior championship team came in afterward, with the woman testifying this month she went 'numb' and in 'autopilot' mode as she engaged in the sexual activity as a coping mechanism as she was surrounded by large men she didn't know. The jury has heard — in graphic detail — her allegations about what took place inside a London, Ont., hotel room in 2018. The jury has heard — in graphic detail — her allegations about what took place inside a London, Ont., hotel room in 2018. McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, and Cal Foote have pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting the woman, and McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to being a party to a sexual assault for allegedly encouraging his teammates to engage in sexual activity with the complainant when he knew she wasn't consenting. The Crown has alleged that McLeod had intercourse with the complainant a second time in the hotel room's bathroom; that Formenton separately had intercourse with the complainant in the bathroom; that McLeod, Hart, and Dubé obtained oral sex from the woman; that Dubé slapped her naked buttocks, and that Foote did the splits over her head and his genitals 'grazed' her face. Newton was the lead investigator on the case in 2018, after the woman's mother called police and her mother's partner called Hockey Canada. He interviewed the complainant several times, as well as most of the players now on trial, and found he did not have grounds to believe a crime had been committed, something he told the players upfront before interviewing them. As the Star has reported, Newton wondered in his report whether the complainant was an 'active participant' in the events of June 18-19, 2018, and found that the consent videos and surveillance footage of the woman walking unaided in heels led him to doubt that she was too intoxicated to consent, as she had told police. He closed the investigation in February 2019. The complainant exits the lobby of the Delta Armouries hotel in the early hours of June 19, 2018, soon after leaving the hotel room where she alleges she was sexually assaulted by five members of the Canadian world junior hockey team. Source: Ontario Superior Court exhibit As part of Newton's investigation, he reviewed individual photos of members of the junior championship team with the complainant, and wrote down her comments next to each one as to whether she recognized them or not. The players were charged in 2024 after London police reopened their criminal investigation amid intense public pressure, after it was reported Hockey Canada had settled, for an undisclosed sum, a $3.5-million sexual assault lawsuit filed by the woman against the organization and eight unnamed John Doe players. A composite image of London police Det. Steve Newton's handwritten notes on the complainant's comments during a June 26, 2018, photo-identification interview. In the part of the interview played in court Tuesday before the lunch break, McLeod doesn't mention that he sent a text in a players' group chat about a '3 way' in his room just after 2 a.m. on June 19, 2018, which has been entered as an exhibit at trial. He told Newton that after he and the woman had sex, a few men came into the room, and he left them with the woman while he went down to the lobby to get food he had ordered on Ubereats; when he came back up, he said he saw Hart receiving oral sex from the complainant. A screenshot of a group chat involving members of Canada's 2018 world junior championship team, including a text from Michael McLeod inviting his teammates to his hotel room for a three-way. 'She seemed completely fine with it, and the other guys were just kind of hanging out on the bed,' he said. 'It was kind of a little different, but we ate the food and hung out, had chicken wings. And after that, it didn't last too long, the blowjob, and then we kind of just hung out after for a bit.' And then more men came into the room, McLeod said, bringing the total to eight or nine players. 'We were really drunk, but we weren't blackout drunk by any means,' he said. 'Like, we all had our heads on straight for the most part.' McLeod said the woman was naked and then got on the bed, asking something along the lines of: 'Who wants to have sex with me? Who's going to step up and have sex with me?' McLeod said it was surprising, as no one wanted to have sex with her in front of the other men. He said she was referring to the men as 'pussies.' The men would just look at each other, he said, 'like this is pretty weird, like you do it, you do it.' McLeod said the woman would become upset that no one wanted to have sex with her. 'I had to like kind of calm her down and kind of say like 'Are you OK?' Like I told her we're only not going to have sex with you because no wants to have sex in front of nine other guys, so she kind of felt better about that. 'Later on, we're hanging out again, and she's feeling better and she was offering to give guys blowjobs,' McLeod went on. 'I got one, and Carter Hart got another one, and maybe Dillon Dube.' He said he and the complainant had sex a final time in the shower when most of the men had left. One of the other men who was willing to have sex with the woman was Formenton, McLeod's hotel roommate that night, but in the bathroom out of view of the other men. He told Newton most of the men had been resisting the woman's demands because they had girlfriends. 'So I volunteered,' he told Newton in a November 2018 video-recorded interview entered as an exhibit during pre-trial hearings. 'But I obviously didn't want to do that in front of guys, I found that very awkward and weird. So we both walked into the washroom and that's where we had intercourse.' He echoed McLeod's comments that the woman was getting upset and frustrated that few men wanted to have sex with her. Newton asked him if it was possible she was upset because she was embarrassed with what was going on 'I think she was embarrassed that nobody did anything to her, and I think she was maybe embarrassed that she thinks she wasn't hot enough and that no one gave her the attention while she was sitting there naked,' Formenton said. 'But really, it was just because everyone had girlfriends and no one found it not awkward to do that in front of people.'
