The accidental release of inmates from Ontario jails triggers a notification to the Ministry of the Solicitor General, according to an official, raising questions over why the government is only now pledging to “get to the bottom” of the issue.
Documents obtained by Global News previously revealed more than 150 inmates had been mistakenly released from Ontario jails over the past five years, with some still unaccounted for months later.
Both Solicitor General Michael Kerzner and Premier Doug Ford vowed to investigate how the mistakes were regularly happening in the jails they’re responsible for, admitting “way too many” accidental releases are taking place.
Kerzner has not acknowledged why he is only taking action after the issue became public, despite a briefing being written for him on the issue in January 2025.
Now, his office has acknowledged that the ministry is actually informed when the accidental releases take place.
“When an individual is improperly released, the police are immediately notified. Steps are then taken to notify victims, if they have registered,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“An incident report is generated and sent to senior individuals and key personnel in the ministry for awareness.”
They said that police are “responsible for notifying the public, if warranted, of an improper release, as they are responsible for public safety outside of the correctional institution.”
Since news of the improper releases — which happen as a result of an “error or oversight” from either the provincial jails or court system — was first reported, Kerzner has suggested he still needs more information on what has happened.
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“I’m going to get to the bottom of what happened, I am going to make sure that we understand exactly what happened,” he told reporters last week. “I am going to be speaking to my deputy minister today, and I’m gonna be meeting with her as often as I have (to).”
Ontario Liberal interim leader John Fraser said the fact that notifications are sent to the ministry and the solicitor general appeared not to know about the issue undermined trust in his ability.
“It’s clear the minister can’t do his job. The fact that he’s been aware of this every time it happened is reason enough for him to be fired,” he said. “No one trusts this minister to protect public safety anymore. The trust is gone. If he can’t do the job, someone else should have it.”
As recently as Thursday, Premier Ford backed Kerzner, saying he was doing “an incredible job” but that the improper release of inmates was “unacceptable.”
“Totally unacceptable, two words, unacceptable,” he said at an unrelated news conference. “We’re going to find out what happened. We’re going to go to root cause, and we’re going to make sure not one single inmate, not one, gets out that door.”
During an exchange in the house on Thursday, Kerzner claimed inmates who are mistakenly released are re-apprehended “immediately,” despite government records showing some are lost for months.
His office said he had intended to refer to the fact that police are immediately notified. Documents seen by Global News show police are told about improper releases, but it is then up to the individual force to decide if the public should know.
Fraser said that if the notification system for police and government already exists, it should be shared more widely.
“The public should know, especially if someone poses a threat to public safety,” he said.
Kerzner would not say in response to questions from reporters last week if any of those accidentally released were a threat to public safety.
His office added that, “while improper releases represent less than one percent of annual releases, we are getting to the bottom of the root cause to ensure it does not happen again.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
