Listen to this article
Estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Six inmates who were mistakenly released from Ontario’s jails remain at large, Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday.
More than 150 inmates have been improperly released from the provincial jail system since 2021, a brewing scandal that has dogged the province since last week.
“It’s unacceptable, no excuses,” Ford said. “All the way through the ministry, we have to tighten it up.”
Ford pledged every inmate on the run would be recaptured.
Despite the problems, Ford is standing by Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, who is responsible for the provincial jail system.
Ford said Kerzner is “doing a great job” with the province’s jail expansion plans.
The tough-on-crime premier has been furious with the situation, saying he told Kerzner, the deputy minister and the “whole chain” that it was unacceptable.
“It can’t happen again,” Ford said.
Inmates still unaccounted for months later: documents
On Monday, the solicitor general and his No. 2 apologized for “inadvertently” saying officials apprehended all 157 criminals who were mistakenly released from the province’s jails over the past five years.
Kerzner repeatedly said last week during question period at Queen’s Park, and afterward to journalists, that the criminals were caught immediately after being improperly released.
Global News discovered through a freedom-of-information request that 157 inmates were improperly released from the province’s jails between 2021 and September 2025.
The documents show several inmates remained unaccounted for months after their release.
Kerzner told the legislature he was “imprecise” in his language.
“I’d like to correct my record without reservation: I inadvertently referenced the immediate re-apprehension of improperly released inmates, rather than clarifying that the local police of jurisdiction were notified immediately,” Kerzner told thelegislature.
“I apologize unreservedly to the members of this house for providing them with information that was not fully accurate.”
Associate Solicitor General Zee Hamid also made a near-identical apology for “inadvertently” saying every single criminal who was mistakenly released was caught immediately.
How many inmates at large, Liberals ask repeatedly
The province has come under fire for the issue over the past week.
Interim Liberal leader John Fraser peppered Kerzner with queries over four question periods, including on Tuesday. He repeatedly asked Kerzner how many inmates remained at large.
Kerzner repeatedly refused to answer how many criminals have been improperly released since last September. He also did not answer questions about how many inmates remained on the run.
Shortly after question period, Ford told reporters about the inmates at large.
Fraser said Kerzner came up to him after the tête-a-tête in the chamber to tell him the number he refused to say inside the house.
“We hear it from the premier in a scrum after we’ve asked a dozen questions — I don’t have an explanation for that, other than he doesn’t know the file,” Fraser said. “He shouldn’t be the minister and if the premier is okay with the job he’s doing, again, that says a lot about the premier.”
Last week, Kerzner said at least six times in question period that officials had caught the inmates immediately.
“If there was an improper release, those people are immediately re-apprehended and put back in jail where they belong,” he said on Thursday.
He also said: “It’s very simple, when there was an improper release, those people were re-apprehended instantaneously.”
Kerzner then fired a salvo at Fraser.
“At the end of the day, because my friend across the aisle doesn’t hear very well, I’ll repeat it: Those people that were released improperly are back where they belong, almost instantaneously behind jail,” Kerzner said.
‘Whole government’ should resign, NDP says
The solicitor general and “the whole government” should resign, said New Democrat Leader Marit Stiles.
“This is the premier, he said he was all Mr. Law and Order and you’ve got inmates on the loose in this province,” Stiles said.
“And not only that, we have a solicitor general who lied to the people of Ontario and refuses to take any responsibility for this.”
