iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females

Prison Adoptee @prisonadoptee.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Prison Born calls attention to the colonial and gendered assumptions that continue to underpin the legal system--assumptions that so frequently lead to the violation of the rights and denial of personhood for children and their mothers.🥚 www.youtube.com/watch?v=sULY...

youtube.com

Lunch and Learn: Robin F. Hansen on Prison Born: Incarceration and Motherhood in the Colonial Shadow

YouTube video by PGCMLS

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Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females

Senator Kim Pate @kpateonthehill.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

On National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we honour all of those impacted by residential schools and continue to advocate for decolonization, decriminalization and decarceration. This day serves as a reminder that the harm caused by residential schools is profound and persists in Canada. (1/4)

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Children were imprisoned with their mothers around the world, not just at Toronto’s Mercer Reformatory. Miriam Makeba was 18 days old when imprisoned with her mother. She became “Mama Africa” and a powerful voice against apartheid. Many others’ stories remain unknown. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqdc...

youtube.com

Miriam Makeba - Khawuleza (Live 1966)

YouTube video by Miriam Makeba Official Channel

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Stompin’ Tom’s life was rooted in his mother’s story of poverty, imprisonment & child welfare intervention. He didn’t speak about it for years because, he says, people “don’t want to hear that.” Hers is one of hundreds of thousands of mothers’ stories still untold. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxgu...

youtube.com

Stompin' Tom Connors CBC Interview 1995

YouTube video by Applejax2011

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Smith describes Ireland’s Magdalen laundries & its “architecture of containment” as a vast network of interlinked institutions. Canada had a similar architecture—a network of institutions & systems of confinement. The Andrew Mercer Reformatory was but one part of it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=r14y...

youtube.com

Ireland's Magdalen laundries and the nation's architecture of containment

YouTube video by Boston College Libraries

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Archiving Female Confinement: Counter-Archives, Testimony, and the Memory of the Good-Shepherd’s Institutions in France (1945–1980) www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLTf...

youtube.com

Archiving Female Confinement | Dr David Niget (Université d’Angers)

YouTube video by CASSCS Research, University of Galway

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Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females

Aimée Baker @aimeebaker.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Ruby Fox was teenager when she was arrested for shoplifting in 1920. What followed? Escape. Re-capture. Escape again. She’s not anyone who would make history books, but her commentary alludes to a broken system. A true story for GIRLHUNT (my Substack on forgotten women + true crime).

A black and white mugshot of a young woman from the 1920s. The text reads: This is Ruby Fox. In 1920 she was arrested for shoplifting in Scottsbluff, Nebraska

A black and white photo of a field with a woman in a 1920s style dress at the edge of the frame. The text reads: She had just moved to town and was staying with the Morrissey sisters. The the of them were caught with stolen clothing. One sister was charged. One walked free. And Ruby?

A black and white photo of a grated window. The text reads: Ruby was sent to the State Reformatory for women in York. She escaped. Then escaped again. And again.

A black and white photo of mountains in Wyoming. The text reads: Her last escape took her to Wyoming with another escaped inmate Myrtle Hettrick. They were free for months.

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Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females

Senator Kim Pate @kpateonthehill.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Today is Prisoners’ Justice Day, an international day of remembrance to honour those who have died in custody and a day of action to advance the rights of incarcerated people. 1/11

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Chapter 7: Maternal rights and infant separation in prisons

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Vanishing Into Custody Indigenous women are overflowing the prison system. Nobody’s watching, and I lived it. indigenousinsider.substack.com/p/vanishing-...

indigenousinsider.substack.com

Vanishing Into Custody

Indigenous women are overflowing the prison system. Nobody’s watching, and I lived it.

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

For centuries, pregnant women were incarcerated, and their babies were forcibly removed for adoption—while few questioned it. This Article uses systems theory to outline the problem of automatic rights denial of children born to incarcerated persons. 👇 journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/cj...

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Architecture of the Gap—fascinating. I'll be reviewing it in light of the 1908 Juvenile Delinquents Act, which, although repealed and replaced by the current Youth Criminal Justice Act, continues to restrict access to records dating back to 1908.

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Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females

APTN News @aptnnews.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Correctional Service Canada has been ordered to take steps to protect inmates from extreme heat in the Edmonton Institution for Women's secure unit. A judge says the service has failed to put an effective solution in place in spite of 20 years of complaints www.aptnnews.ca?p=291783

aptnnews.ca

Court orders Alberta prison to protect inmates from extreme heat

A court said the Correctional Service Canada has failed to put an effective solution in place at the Edmonton Institution for Women's secure unit. Complaints about extreme heat go back two decades.

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Before it was Toronto's trendiest neighborhood, Liberty Village was home to the Toronto Central Prison and the Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women; institutions built to hold the people the city didn't want to see. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cmi...

youtube.com

The Dark History Behind Toronto's Trendiest Neighborhood | The Story of Liberty Village

YouTube video by Praeteritum

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Nothing has changed since Mercer opened in 1880, with some women incarcerated up to 50 times.👇 "Third, fragmented access to treatment, recovery, harm reduction, and ongoing health supports leaves many people cycling between homelessness, shelters, hospitals, and the justice system." (see p. 2) 👇

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

🧵1/2 Ontario Training Schools - To all survivors in Ontario, Canada, and beyond: you are not forgotten. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmQM...

youtube.com

They Knew

YouTube video by Reach for the Bible

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Their experiences deserve recognition, accountability, truth, and justice. Yet, for the most part, legislative barriers continue to prevent survivors and families from gaining access to complete records. 3/3

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Shame on Canada and others for neglecting to bring attention to the many institutions—particularly carceral and coercive institutions—in which vulnerable women and girls suffered. 2/3

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

🧵Canada has had NO comparable Truth Recovery Independent Panel to investigate maternity homes, reformatories, Good Shepherd Institutions, refuges, rescue homes, asylums, industrial and training schools, and other institutions in which women and girls were confined. www.tiktok.com/@newscoolfm/...

tiktok.com

💔NEW: 'A little boy still looking for his mummy.' Estimated number of women admitted to Mother and Baby Homes and Magdalene Laundries 2,000 higher than previously thought. 🎤Chief Reporter James Gould ...

TikTok video by CoolFMNews

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Sixty years ago today, on July 4, 1966, Toronto reached approximately 36.1°C (97°F). Imagine being locked in a tiny cell in that heat. Mercer experienced many riots over the years, and extreme conditions like this could only have added to the strain and tension endured by those confined there.

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

6/6 As our understanding of prostitution, sexual exploitation, and trafficking evolves, perhaps it's also time to ask new questions about the children—and the intergenerational consequences of separating families. #Adoption #ChildWelfare #CanadianHistory #Mercer #Trafficking

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

5/6 Were these children raised by relatives? Placed in institutions? Apprehended by child welfare authorities? Adopted? How many grew up believing they had been abandoned, never knowing the circumstances that led to their separation?

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

4/6 One of the most significant gaps in the academic literature is this: What became of the children of women incarcerated at Mercer? Not only those born while their mothers were imprisoned, but also the children they already had.

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

3/6 Many of these women also lived through profound poverty, violence, and sexual exploitation. Some would today likely be understood as having experienced coercion or trafficking. History often recorded their offences—but rarely their lives.

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

2/6 On opening day, 19-year-old Margaret, sentenced in Bradford, became Mercer's first prisoner, arriving to serve a six-month sentence for prostitution. Over the next eight decades, thousands of women and girls would be incarcerated there for so-called prostitution-related offences.

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

1/6🧵 Ontario decided it needed a separate prison for women. The result was the Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females, which opened on August 28, 1880. During the next 89 years, more than 20,000 women and girls would pass through its gates.

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

“Prostituted women and girls constitute some of the most marginalized and violated groups in society — yet they are also the most forgotten." In Canada, descendants cannot access records of juvenile ancestors incarcerated at Mercer. The YCJA keeps these histories hidden. youtu.be/g7_XyT9ufwY?...

youtu.be

Prostitution is a System of Violence Against Women Expert Tells UN Human Rights Council | HRC56

YouTube video by UN Human Rights Council

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

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 canlii.ca/t/kl2n3

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

1880–1969: the Mercer Reformatory incarcerated women for poverty, homelessness, drunkenness, and “immoral” conduct, often separating them from children deemed neglected and made Crown wards for adoption. It’s encouraging to see evidence-based and international approaches to address homelessness.👇

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Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females

Canadian Civil Liberties Association @cancivlib.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

CCLA welcomes the Ontario Superior Court of Justice landmark decision affirming that unhoused people are entitled to full constitutional protection under the Charter and that governments must apply a human rights-based approach in responding to homeless encampments. ccla.org/press-releas...

ccla.org

CCLA Welcomes Historic Waterloo Court Decision Vindicating Rights of Unhoused People - CCLA

While federal political parties resist any form of privacy protection, a new poll finds Canadians do not trust them to protect their data.

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Imagine if a rights-based approach to housing & homelessness had existed when Mercer was open (1880–1969). How many of the 20,000+ women & girls would have been safely housed instead of being criminalized & incarcerated? Many were confined there & exploited as forced labour at Mercer Industries.

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

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: youtu.be/-2dzVlnDBzA?...

youtu.be

Incorrigible: A Film About Velma Demerson (Trailer)

YouTube video by Moving Images Distribution

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Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females

Prison Adoptee @prisonadoptee.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

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

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

~200 children died in a Tooting cholera outbreak (1848–49). Most names lost. The man responsible was acquitted—and remembered. The children—the most vulnerable—not. Refusing their erasure. 👇 @genealogygraeme.bsky.social tooting180.org

tooting180.org

Welcome to Tooting180

For the victims of the cholera outbreak in Tooting's pauper farm in 1848/49

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

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

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Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females

Prison Adoptee @prisonadoptee.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

In 1953, my teenage mother spent weeks in what was known as the “dungeon” at the Andrew Mercer Reformatory as punishment for escaping. A decade for Tona Mills is deeply distressing; it’s hard to grasp that those in authority allowed her and others to be subjected to such inhumane and cruel TORTURE.

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

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? www.theguardian.com/books/2026/a...

theguardian.com

The Fallen by Louise Brangan review – an enraging account of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries

The horrifying story of the Catholic-run institutions that incarcerated thousands of women and girls

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Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females

Canadian Human Rights Commission @cdnhumanrights.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Our 2025 Annual Report to Parliament is now available! After a year that presented Canada with some of the most significant challenges in our nation’s history, it is clear that respect for human rights must be one of the core values we fight for, together. (1/2)

Cover of the CHRC’s 2025 Annual Report to Parliament. The text on the left reads: “New Report: Explore our new Annual Report”.

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

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

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Recognition and accountability are essential to restoring dignity and addressing the lasting harm caused by these harmful historical practices. 4/4

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Why is Canada lagging behind in doing the same? These practices imposed—and continue to impose—a profound and enduring double burden of shame and trauma on young mothers forced to relinquish their children. 3/4

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Other countries have acknowledged and apologized for coerced and forced adoptions of babies born to unmarried mothers in maternity homes. 2/4

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

🧵Canada Must Confront the Legacy of Forced Adoptions of Babies Born to Unmarried Mothers in Maternity Homes 1/4 🥚

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Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females

Prison Adoptee @prisonadoptee.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

🥚"... 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"

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

In 1939, Demerson was just 18 years old, when a love story with her Chinese boyfriend Harry Yip turned tragic. Her father, outraged that she would marry a Chinese man, had her arrested & put in jail for one year for being Incorrigible under the Ontario Female Refuges Act. vimeo.com/254147984/ec...

vimeo.com

Incorrigible - A film about Velma Demerson

In 1939, Velma Demerson was just 18 years old, when a love story with her Chinese boyfriend Harry Yip turned tragic. Her father, outraged that she would marry a Chinese man, had her arrested and put ...

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Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females @amreformatory.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

The article 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 them.” 2/2

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