The Ontario Provincial Union for Corrections is the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (O.P.S.E.U.) The part of this Union which represents Maplehurst and Vanier Staff is Local 234. Results of the recent elections for Union Executive: Executive Board President Emidio Casullo The flagship of the Province of Ontario Corrections system now sits along Hwy 401 at Milton, a community of 43,000 about 30 miles (50 kilometres) west of the City of Toronto. Milton is in the County of Halton, and at one time, as the county seat, was the home of the Halton County Jail (1863-1978). Maplehurst first rose from what was farmland about 1975, and was named the Maplehurst Correctional Centre. In the late 1980s a renovation and expansion added a Detention Centre to the site, thus came the name the Maplehurst Correctional & Detention Centre. Then came the Provincial Conservative governments (1996-2003) and ideas of superjails. The Maplehurst site again underwent renovation and expansion in the early 21st century, again being renamed The Maplehurst Correctional Complex in 2002. The property visible as you drive along the 401, saw the addition of the new Vanier Centre for Women, which has now moved from Brampton to this Complex, a number of the now familiar octagonal superjail pods were added, Trilcor Industries (Ontario prison industries) has shops here, and a privately contracted ‘Cook Chill’ kitchen that makes frozen inmate meals for this Complex and other Ontario prisons is also here. The entire Complex holds about 1,700 inmates, both male and female. The female section is still known as the Vanier Centre for Women, and the male section again renamed the Maplehurst Correctional Complex. So from the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services view there are two facilities here, but from the Ontario Public Service Employee’s Union (OPSEU) perspective, there is one hugh local, Local 234. This entire Complex has now become the largest prison site in Canada. That distinction may not last long, seeing as some other Provinces are currently building a number of new facilities. Maplehurst, so far has seen a lot of change over it’s 29 year history. One of the first staff organizations that existed here besides the OPSEU Local 234 was the Maplehurst Hockey Club, known as the Hounds. I remember when I’d be driving along the 401 on trips to Toronto in the 1970s and 1980s, I’d see inmates out in the giant sports field, running around, playing baseball or basketball in the summer. In the winter there used to be a hockey rink outside. Such areas are not used anymore with the new way of operation at Maplehurst and Vanier, but the fields are still there. There is lots of room for future expansion, and maybe even some more staff parking. The staff at Maplehurst has quite a mix of people from a number of facilities that were closed over the past few years by the government, both current and previous. There are few staff left from the old days of County and District Jails in Ontario. There are two I know of, one from the old Waterloo County Jail (1853-1978), in Kitchener (Berlin), and he’s real close to retirement, and another staff member who saw service at the old Halton County Jail. Quite a few retired Corrections staff are around, and some of the stories they have reflect another era of Corrections in Ontario.
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