In a recent coroner’s inquest examining the death of Kevin Mamakwa, a member of the Kingfisher Lake First Nation who died by suicide at the Thunder Bay Jail on 2 June 2020, the jury recommended closing the facility. The recommendation to close the jail, built in 1926, is supported by both the Mamakwa family and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation.
The Ford government previously announced that the new Thunder Bay Correctional Complex would replace both the Thunder Bay Jail and the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre, which – in their words – are “out-of-date infrastructure that no longer meet current needs“. However, amid their “jail, not bail” binge filling prisons, the province now plans to keep the jail, long described as a “death trap”, open.
You are invited to join the fight to close the Thunder Bay Jail in the memory of Kevin Mamakwa and all those who have lost their lives at the century old institution.
If you are an Ontario resident, endorse the petition below by clicking on, downloading, printing, signing, and mailing it to the office of Kevin’s uncle, MPP Sol Mamakwa, who will table the petition in the Ontario legislature in 2027.
Petition to Close the Thunder Bay Jail
c/o MPP Sol Mamakwa
Room 361
Main Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto, ON
M7A 1A5
You are also encouraged to collect signatures for the petition.
*** Please note that the petition can only be tabled with the printed name and home address (i.e. dwelling number, street, municipality, province [ON], and postal code), as well as the original signature of each petitioner directly on copies of the page provided below. Signatures on other pages are ineligible for submission to the Ontario legislature. ***
Whether you live in Ontario or elsewhere, register your support to close the Thunder Bay Jail by contacting Ontario Premier Doug Ford by phone or email.