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Ottawa’s jail has been so full some weekends that inmates have had to sleep on the floor in the day room of a segregation area typically reserved for those with mental illness.

The president of the union representing correctional officers at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre said as many as 10 inmates serving weekend sentences have regularly been provided mattresses on the floor in the room, in an area of the jail known as one wing, to ease the overflow.

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That segregation area currently largely houses inmates with mental health issues.

Correctional officer and OPSEU local president Denis Collin said inmates serving their sentences on weekends have also been held in holding cells in the admitting and discharge area when the jail is too crowded.

Mattresses have also been used on the floor of some segregation cells, allowing the jail to double up inmates who need to be removed from the general population for disciplinary or other reasons, Collin said.