City of Hamilton council motion in support of prison construction defeated
In September 2025, Hamilton city councillor Mike Spadafora tabled a motion calling on the provincial and federal governments to “prioritize and fund the immediate construction of new correctional facilities and the expansion of existing ones”.
In response to Councillor Spadafora’s motion, the Coalition Against Proposed Prisons (CAPP) and #NOPE | No Ontario Prison Expansion. campaign signatories like the Disability Justice Network of Ontario, Incarcerated Voters of Ontario, Hamilton Acorn, Hamilton Encampment Support Network, and loved ones of people who have died at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre sprang into action, initiating a phone and email zap to encourage Hamilton city councillors to defeat the motion.
During a City of Hamilton General Issues Committee meeting held on 10 September 2025, several councillors cited the correspondence they received to explain why they opposed the motion (click here to watch the debate). The motion was defeated by a vote of 7-7 (click here to watch the vote).