Quebec jails overcrowded, ombudsman says

Quebec's ombudsman says the province's jails are overcrowded, and seniors in the province are not receiving the care they deserve in publicly owned, long-term-care homes.

Raymonde Saint-Germain said there has been a considerable increase in the number of prisoners in the system, with manyjails operating beyond their capacity, as she tabled her annual report in the national assembly Thursday.

Her report mentions the town of Amos, in northwest Quebec, where there are 102 convicts in a jail built to hold 86.

She also cited the jail in St-Jerome which is 20 per cent over capacity, and the one in Hull, in western Quebec, which is 27 per cent over capacity.

Saint-Germain also said Quebec seniors' homes do not always provide proper meals or proper hygiene for their residents.

"The workers are not well enough helped through training, professional training. And also there is a lack of financial resources in those centres," Saint-Germain said.

She said she is pressing the government to act quickly on the matter so seniors in all public homes receive proper care.

Saint-Germain also noted problems with Quebec's public automobile-insurance agency, the Socit de l'assurance automobile du Qubec (SAAQ).

She said her office received 160 complaints from the public about it last year.

In all, her office sorted through more than 20,000 complaints about public service in the province.