Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females

Criminalized Women and Girls’ Ancestral Research: Supporting Descendants of Those Incarcerated or Born at the Institution and Adopted.

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

Over 20,000 women & girls were incarcerated at the Mercer Reformatory in Toronto, ON from 1880-1969. What happened to the children of imprisoned mother’s or their babies born while incarcerated?
Follow as we explore #HiddenHistories & #adoption

Annual Report 1948. No. 18, p. 36

[Canadian Civil Liberties Association @cancivlib]

A recent Ontario court decision recognizing homelessness as an analogous ground of discrimination under the Charter has sparked debate about the role of the courts in advancing equality rights. In this article, Harini Sivalingam argues that the ruling is not an example of judicial activism, but rather a reflection of the Charter‘s purpose: protecting those who face systemic disadvantage and exclusion. Recognizing the realities faced by unhoused people is an essential step toward ensuring that constitutional equality rights extend to those who need them most.

The link to the article can be found here.
https://t.co/krIf4ktx3y

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

We worked hard to break down this barrier.

Three years. Multiple IPC orders. Dismissed reconsideration requests.

The YCJA does not retroactively restrict access to records solely because an individual was under 18 while incarcerated at Mercer.
PO-4827-R https://t.co/fWBxeDZW1K

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

We worked hard to break down this barrier.

Three years. Multiple IPC orders. Dismissed reconsideration requests.

The YCJA does not retroactively restrict access to records solely because an individual was under 18 while incarcerated at Mercer.
PO-4827-R https://t.co/fWBxeDZW1K

[AmnestyCanada @AmnestyNow]

In a landmark decision, an Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled people experiencing homelessness have the same Charter protections against discrimination under section 15 as people who face discrimination based on their race, disability or religion

https://t.co/4vO0YjRUXn

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

Watch now! International Tribunal to Investigate Alleged Crimes Against Indigenous Children in Canada’s Residential Schools
https://t.co/iM91zu5jxx

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

Velma Demerson (1920–2019) died on May 13, 2019. Imprisoned in Ontario in 1939 for being with Chinese immigrant Harry Yip, she later fought for justice for women jailed under the Female Refuges Act.

🎬 Trailer: https://t.co/g83jSRK9vS

[The odd archive @theoddarchive]

Canadian Residential Schools — They Stole 150,000 Children and Buried Thousands in Secret

#ResidentialSchools #IndigenousHistory #HiddenHistory #StolenChildren #CanadianHistory

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

Cody writes: “Protection for the red dress”
"This piece is created for May 5th-red dress day
The man who killed my grandma, was charged 200 dollars or two months in jail."

(Released from Mercer just prior)

Instagram: https://t.co/VIRwydMZ0l
Facebook: https://t.co/hmrbHnnvA2

[APTN News @APTNNews]

A Permanent People’s Tribunal will be held soon in Montreal with intentions to seek justice for Canada’s role in the residential school system.

The tribunal is not legally binding, but those involved hope the tribunal will remind people of the issue.
https://t.co/JK3wj1BSVB

[Survivors' Secretariat @survivorssec]

The Government of Canada has been notified of the upcoming Permanent People's Tribunal session on missing indigenous children and unmarked grave in Montreal, May 2026. Canada is being called to answer for longstanding harms against Indigenous peoples on an international platform.

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

Yr ending Mar 1964: 559 females imprisoned at Mercer—293 single, 266 married. Though framed as addressing a “child in need of protection,” the Child Welfare Act disproportionately impacted single mothers, effectively treating sole caregiving as grounds for child removal.

[Kimberly Murray @kahnasatake]

The Government of Canada has been notified of the upcoming session on missing indigenous children and unmarked graves in Canada (Montreal, May 25-29 2026) https://t.co/zXRAG5KKlg

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

J. J. Kelso, Canada’s “child saver.” 130 yrs later, descendants still can’t access records—modern child welfare laws block it. Two descendants were denied CAS records from 1900 & 1905. Why are 100+ year-old records still sealed?

https://t.co/eyf1kEyVJm

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

New book on Ireland’s Catholic-run institutions that imprisoned thousands of women and girls. In Canada, meanwhile, records are blocked by federal & provincial laws. It raises a haunting question: what happened to the babies born in our Magdalene asylums?
https://t.co/1a7gXGrfTN

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

Eugenic ideology shaped laws, abusive institutions, & forced sterilization. Today, federal & provincial disclosure laws still hide the experiences of women & girls in Canada labeled “incorrigible,” blocking access to records. The U. S. #Incorrigibles Ry Marcattilio-McCracken 👇

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

"...Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho said the country’s past adoptions amounted to “forced child trafficking” and that the government will largely refrain from appealing rulings in cases brought by victims seeking compensation for government wrongdoing."
https://t.co/z5mmxy2eDM

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

continues...“A crime has been committed here – a crime against humanity,” declared Mr. MacDonald. “Unless the conscience of the people of Ontario is aroused sufficiently to stir the government, our reform institutions will continue to create criminals rather the correct hm.” 2/2

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

🧵Torture at the Ontario Training School for Girls: a 12-year-old brutally abused for 92 days—then incarcerated in the Mercer Reformatory.
Two snippets from the Toronto Star. 👇1/2

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

Must-read on the class action at the “House of Horrors” in B.C. & the overrepresentation of Indigenous girls 👇

Note: in Ontario, “incorrigible” girls who escaped training schools were committed to the Mercer Reformatory.

https://t.co/Lc1vqKln2h

[Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @AMReformatory]

What the documentary doesn’t say: Ontario Training Schools girls were surveilled until 21, and many pregnant girls were sent to Mercer. Adoption records don’t identify their mothers as ‘juvenile delinquents,’ keeping these carceral birth origins hidden.
https://t.co/iLhNARkDGK