Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females
@amreformatory.bsky.social
Criminalized Women and Girls’ Ancestral Research: Supporting Descendants of Those Incarcerated or Born at the Institution and Adopted.
#PrisonAdoptees #PrisonBorn #PunishedInUtero #Genealogy
https://andrewmercerreformatory.org/
#PrisonAdoptees #PrisonBorn #PunishedInUtero #Genealogy
https://andrewmercerreformatory.org/
Pinned
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
Follow as we explore #HiddenHistories & #adoption
Annual Report 1948. No. 18, p. 36
Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females
The Quebec Superior Court has authorized a class-action lawsuit on behalf of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children who suffered abuse at the hands of Quebec’s youth protection services since 1950.
www.aptnnews.ca/national-new...
www.aptnnews.ca/national-new...
Class-action suit for abuse Indigenous kids suffered in Quebec youth protection
Class-action lawsuit authorized for abuse Indigenous kids suffered in Quebec’s youth protection system since 1950.
www.aptnnews.ca
November 13, 2025 at 10:28 PM
The Quebec Superior Court has authorized a class-action lawsuit on behalf of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children who suffered abuse at the hands of Quebec’s youth protection services since 1950.
www.aptnnews.ca/national-new...
www.aptnnews.ca/national-new...
This person was fortunate to learn what most adoptees never do: across Canada, many incarcerated mothers’ babies were adopted, yet knowledge of remain hidden behind youth privacy laws.
Royal British Columbia Museum, BC Archives (Re), 2021 BCIPC 38 (CanLII), canlii.ca/t/jhrt7
@moonlyfe.bsky.social
Royal British Columbia Museum, BC Archives (Re), 2021 BCIPC 38 (CanLII), canlii.ca/t/jhrt7
@moonlyfe.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 6:48 PM
This person was fortunate to learn what most adoptees never do: across Canada, many incarcerated mothers’ babies were adopted, yet knowledge of remain hidden behind youth privacy laws.
Royal British Columbia Museum, BC Archives (Re), 2021 BCIPC 38 (CanLII), canlii.ca/t/jhrt7
@moonlyfe.bsky.social
Royal British Columbia Museum, BC Archives (Re), 2021 BCIPC 38 (CanLII), canlii.ca/t/jhrt7
@moonlyfe.bsky.social
Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females
Inmates helped generate $97 million last year for the Correctional Service of Canada’s employment branch known as CORCAN.
But inmates earn no more than $6.90 a day.
Fields of Confinement - Watch: youtu.be/fgdPG4M9bp8?...
But inmates earn no more than $6.90 a day.
Fields of Confinement - Watch: youtu.be/fgdPG4M9bp8?...
November 4, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Inmates helped generate $97 million last year for the Correctional Service of Canada’s employment branch known as CORCAN.
But inmates earn no more than $6.90 a day.
Fields of Confinement - Watch: youtu.be/fgdPG4M9bp8?...
But inmates earn no more than $6.90 a day.
Fields of Confinement - Watch: youtu.be/fgdPG4M9bp8?...
Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females
🥚For all those adoptees punished in utero, whose carceral birth histories were hidden as they suffered innumerable harms and whose lives were cut short — may their truths be unearthed, their stories honored, and the silence end for those still unaware of their carceral beginnings.
October 30, 2025 at 7:52 PM
🥚For all those adoptees punished in utero, whose carceral birth histories were hidden as they suffered innumerable harms and whose lives were cut short — may their truths be unearthed, their stories honored, and the silence end for those still unaware of their carceral beginnings.
In Ont., Mercer Reformatory records were denied under the YCJA—but teens 16–17 weren’t considered “youth offenders” then. We appealed—and won. Orders PO-4749, PO-4750 & PO-4751 force a new access decision.
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#FOI #SecretCanada #HiddenHistory
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#FOI #SecretCanada #HiddenHistory
October 26, 2025 at 8:25 PM
In Ont., Mercer Reformatory records were denied under the YCJA—but teens 16–17 weren’t considered “youth offenders” then. We appealed—and won. Orders PO-4749, PO-4750 & PO-4751 force a new access decision.
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#FOI #SecretCanada #HiddenHistory
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#FOI #SecretCanada #HiddenHistory
This article aims to untangle the complex relationship between government, economics, related policy and politics and the criminalization of Indigenous people in Canada.
www.tamarackcommunity.ca/articles/res...
www.tamarackcommunity.ca/articles/res...
ARTICLE | Research Shows Link Between Poverty and Criminalization
This article unpacks the complex relationship between government, economics, policy and politics and the criminalization of Indigenous people in Canada.
www.tamarackcommunity.ca
October 22, 2025 at 10:01 PM
This article aims to untangle the complex relationship between government, economics, related policy and politics and the criminalization of Indigenous people in Canada.
www.tamarackcommunity.ca/articles/res...
www.tamarackcommunity.ca/articles/res...
Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females
4 girls — including my mother — escaped Mercer’s OTS wing but were caught and locked in the dungeon, where another desperate escape was attempted. It’s time to end these brutal, inhumane isolation conditions that disproportionately affect Indigenous, Black, and disabled people.
#S205 #EndSeg
#S205 #EndSeg
October 22, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Some of the records coming in from Mercer indicate that the Children of Unmarried Parents Act (CUPA) was applied to Mercer babies. Could CUPA help us understand how many were born to incarcerated mothers?
We’re working on it!
We’re working on it!
🥚Statistics from the Children of Unmarried Parents Act were used to support claims of mass adoption among unmarried mothers. So how is it that only 562 out of 4,023 consented to relinquishment — or 562 out of 1,992 non-cohabiting mothers?
Race? Age? Institution? Incarcerated mothers?
See alt txt
Race? Age? Institution? Incarcerated mothers?
See alt txt
October 21, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Some of the records coming in from Mercer indicate that the Children of Unmarried Parents Act (CUPA) was applied to Mercer babies. Could CUPA help us understand how many were born to incarcerated mothers?
We’re working on it!
We’re working on it!
Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females
🥚Adoptees of Bluesky: Horrendous case of Ashley Smith! 👇For those who don’t know, she was an adoptee too.
Eighteen years after Ashley Smith’s preventable death in a segregation cell, Canada continues to grapple with the same injustices she suffered. 1/2
#AshleySmith #HumanRights #PrisonReform #TonasLaw #SenCA #BillS205
#AshleySmith #HumanRights #PrisonReform #TonasLaw #SenCA #BillS205
October 20, 2025 at 7:37 PM
🥚Adoptees of Bluesky: Horrendous case of Ashley Smith! 👇For those who don’t know, she was an adoptee too.
Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females
What would Canada uncover if it examined carceral births—children born to incarcerated mothers, especially those labeled “juvenile delinquents”? These histories are still sealed under youth protection laws, leaving adoptees unaware of their institutional origins.
Private agency adoptions ends, and adoptions will be centralized in South Korea. 🥚
#adopteesky
news.cgtn.com/news/2025-10...
#adopteesky
news.cgtn.com/news/2025-10...
Adoption Scandal: South Korea ends overseas adoption system after decades of scandal and calls for justice
South Korea has ended its decades-long reliance on private agencies to handle overseas adoptions of Korean children, after a government inquiry uncovered evidence of fraud, identity tampering, and wid...
news.cgtn.com
October 20, 2025 at 2:19 PM
What would Canada uncover if it examined carceral births—children born to incarcerated mothers, especially those labeled “juvenile delinquents”? These histories are still sealed under youth protection laws, leaving adoptees unaware of their institutional origins.
Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females
𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐫: Incarcerated women, their descendants & a Mercer Baby.
A firsthand account + intergenerational voices from the Andrew Mercer Reformatory.
Excerpt: “Your work dress consisted of patches upon patches...” – Audrey D., Rebirth & Change
andrewmercerreformatory.org/reading-mate...
A firsthand account + intergenerational voices from the Andrew Mercer Reformatory.
Excerpt: “Your work dress consisted of patches upon patches...” – Audrey D., Rebirth & Change
andrewmercerreformatory.org/reading-mate...
Reading Material and More - Andrew Mercer Reformatory
This is a collection of articles, theses, books, podcasts, and chapters that explore the history of the Mercer Reformatory and other similar confined institutions. Most of these materials are availabl...
andrewmercerreformatory.org
October 17, 2025 at 8:22 PM
𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐫: Incarcerated women, their descendants & a Mercer Baby.
A firsthand account + intergenerational voices from the Andrew Mercer Reformatory.
Excerpt: “Your work dress consisted of patches upon patches...” – Audrey D., Rebirth & Change
andrewmercerreformatory.org/reading-mate...
A firsthand account + intergenerational voices from the Andrew Mercer Reformatory.
Excerpt: “Your work dress consisted of patches upon patches...” – Audrey D., Rebirth & Change
andrewmercerreformatory.org/reading-mate...
𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐫: Incarcerated women, their descendants & a Mercer Baby.
A firsthand account + intergenerational voices from the Andrew Mercer Reformatory.
Excerpt: “Your work dress consisted of patches upon patches...” – Audrey D., Rebirth & Change
andrewmercerreformatory.org/reading-mate...
A firsthand account + intergenerational voices from the Andrew Mercer Reformatory.
Excerpt: “Your work dress consisted of patches upon patches...” – Audrey D., Rebirth & Change
andrewmercerreformatory.org/reading-mate...
Reading Material and More - Andrew Mercer Reformatory
This is a collection of articles, theses, books, podcasts, and chapters that explore the history of the Mercer Reformatory and other similar confined institutions. Most of these materials are availabl...
andrewmercerreformatory.org
October 17, 2025 at 8:22 PM
𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐫: Incarcerated women, their descendants & a Mercer Baby.
A firsthand account + intergenerational voices from the Andrew Mercer Reformatory.
Excerpt: “Your work dress consisted of patches upon patches...” – Audrey D., Rebirth & Change
andrewmercerreformatory.org/reading-mate...
A firsthand account + intergenerational voices from the Andrew Mercer Reformatory.
Excerpt: “Your work dress consisted of patches upon patches...” – Audrey D., Rebirth & Change
andrewmercerreformatory.org/reading-mate...
Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females
🥚Adoptee born of a mother at a Salvation Army home?
They ran a wide network of maternity and receiving homes, often with the courts, to house girls labeled “delinquent” or mothers on remand or released from jails or reformatories. YCJA prevents disclosure. #HiddenHistories
They ran a wide network of maternity and receiving homes, often with the courts, to house girls labeled “delinquent” or mothers on remand or released from jails or reformatories. YCJA prevents disclosure. #HiddenHistories
October 14, 2025 at 12:35 AM
🥚Adoptee born of a mother at a Salvation Army home?
They ran a wide network of maternity and receiving homes, often with the courts, to house girls labeled “delinquent” or mothers on remand or released from jails or reformatories. YCJA prevents disclosure. #HiddenHistories
They ran a wide network of maternity and receiving homes, often with the courts, to house girls labeled “delinquent” or mothers on remand or released from jails or reformatories. YCJA prevents disclosure. #HiddenHistories
Reposted by Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females
🥚Note to adoptees: Youth protection laws will prevent you from learning your mother’s circumstances—whether she was criminalized or not. As one account explains, "girls found wandering the city streets are picked up by police and convicted of vagrancy even though they committed no criminal offence.”
October 12, 2025 at 3:14 PM
🥚Note to adoptees: Youth protection laws will prevent you from learning your mother’s circumstances—whether she was criminalized or not. As one account explains, "girls found wandering the city streets are picked up by police and convicted of vagrancy even though they committed no criminal offence.”
🥚Thousands of Canadian adoptees with carceral birth origins remain unaware — their stories sealed by the Youth Criminal Justice Act and rendered invisible within adoption disclosure practices.
🥚Very few adoptees know we were born in prison. I suspect thousands share this history — but it’s hidden behind youth privacy laws worldwide.
Upcoming event with Deborah Jiang-Stein, author of Prison Baby.
Upcoming event with Deborah Jiang-Stein, author of Prison Baby.
October 8, 2025 at 6:13 PM
🥚Thousands of Canadian adoptees with carceral birth origins remain unaware — their stories sealed by the Youth Criminal Justice Act and rendered invisible within adoption disclosure practices.
In 1905 in Ontario, a little girl was placed out for the first time. J.J. Kelso’s vision was to rescue children from unworthy families and give them “safe homes.”
But that vision fell short — she was shuffled through home after home, only breaking free by marrying.
But that vision fell short — she was shuffled through home after home, only breaking free by marrying.
October 7, 2025 at 12:48 AM
In 1905 in Ontario, a little girl was placed out for the first time. J.J. Kelso’s vision was to rescue children from unworthy families and give them “safe homes.”
But that vision fell short — she was shuffled through home after home, only breaking free by marrying.
But that vision fell short — she was shuffled through home after home, only breaking free by marrying.
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕 — A 1957 film unseen for nearly 70 years, now public (2025).
Found via Library & Archives Canada, we requested a digital copy from the NFB & had it made public
It follows a woman released from Mercer connecting with the new Elizabeth Fry Society
andrewmercerreformatory.org/reading-mate...
Found via Library & Archives Canada, we requested a digital copy from the NFB & had it made public
It follows a woman released from Mercer connecting with the new Elizabeth Fry Society
andrewmercerreformatory.org/reading-mate...
Reading Material and More - Andrew Mercer Reformatory
This is a collection of articles, theses, books, podcasts, and chapters that explore the history of the Mercer Reformatory and other similar confined institutions. Most of these materials are availabl...
andrewmercerreformatory.org
October 4, 2025 at 11:56 PM
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕 — A 1957 film unseen for nearly 70 years, now public (2025).
Found via Library & Archives Canada, we requested a digital copy from the NFB & had it made public
It follows a woman released from Mercer connecting with the new Elizabeth Fry Society
andrewmercerreformatory.org/reading-mate...
Found via Library & Archives Canada, we requested a digital copy from the NFB & had it made public
It follows a woman released from Mercer connecting with the new Elizabeth Fry Society
andrewmercerreformatory.org/reading-mate...
🧵The Andrew Mercer Reformatory was one of many carceral institutions in Ontario that imprisoned over 20,000 women and girls.
To read the text beneath the photos on the heritage plaque, please visit: andrewmercerreformatory.org/heritage-pla...
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To read the text beneath the photos on the heritage plaque, please visit: andrewmercerreformatory.org/heritage-pla...
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October 3, 2025 at 8:30 PM
🧵The Andrew Mercer Reformatory was one of many carceral institutions in Ontario that imprisoned over 20,000 women and girls.
To read the text beneath the photos on the heritage plaque, please visit: andrewmercerreformatory.org/heritage-pla...
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To read the text beneath the photos on the heritage plaque, please visit: andrewmercerreformatory.org/heritage-pla...
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🥚All these countries—including Canada—need to investigate what happened to the children of criminalized and incarcerated women and girls, particularly in cases of adoption concealed under youth privacy laws that prevent disclosing whether the mother was criminalized as a "juvenile delinquent."
It's a start. But the trauma and pain inflicted on the families and children can't be undone.
🥚 #adopteesky
www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/202...
🥚 #adopteesky
www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/202...
South Korea president apologises for abusive foreign adoption scheme
Programme, which started after Korean War as a way of removing mixed-race children from society, violated human rights.
www.aljazeera.com
October 2, 2025 at 7:18 PM
🥚All these countries—including Canada—need to investigate what happened to the children of criminalized and incarcerated women and girls, particularly in cases of adoption concealed under youth privacy laws that prevent disclosing whether the mother was criminalized as a "juvenile delinquent."
An abused Italian woman was jailed, her child “placed out” by CAS — learn more about her fight to regain custody of her child. 👉 Re D’Andrea, 1916 CanLII 479 (ON SC)
A story reflecting injustices faced by thousands of criminalized & incarcerated women & girls
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAeF...
A story reflecting injustices faced by thousands of criminalized & incarcerated women & girls
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAeF...
Mercer Reformatory for Women: la prigione delle donne, a Toronto, 1880/1969 | OMNI News Italian
YouTube video by OMNI Television
www.youtube.com
September 27, 2025 at 5:40 PM
An abused Italian woman was jailed, her child “placed out” by CAS — learn more about her fight to regain custody of her child. 👉 Re D’Andrea, 1916 CanLII 479 (ON SC)
A story reflecting injustices faced by thousands of criminalized & incarcerated women & girls
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAeF...
A story reflecting injustices faced by thousands of criminalized & incarcerated women & girls
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAeF...
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We’ve seen Children’s Aid Society (CAS) and Mercer records of a mom jailed in 1911 with five kids—all “placed out.” One son, indentured, was denied his earnings by Fort William CAS when he turned 18 in 1922. He hired a lawyer. How much did CAS steal from those who had no power?
We’ve seen Children’s Aid Society (CAS) and Mercer records of a mom jailed in 1911 with five kids—all “placed out.” One son, indentured, was denied his earnings by Fort William CAS when he turned 18 in 1922. He hired a lawyer. How much did CAS steal from those who had no power?
September 26, 2025 at 6:45 PM
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We’ve seen Children’s Aid Society (CAS) and Mercer records of a mom jailed in 1911 with five kids—all “placed out.” One son, indentured, was denied his earnings by Fort William CAS when he turned 18 in 1922. He hired a lawyer. How much did CAS steal from those who had no power?
We’ve seen Children’s Aid Society (CAS) and Mercer records of a mom jailed in 1911 with five kids—all “placed out.” One son, indentured, was denied his earnings by Fort William CAS when he turned 18 in 1922. He hired a lawyer. How much did CAS steal from those who had no power?
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A Mercer descendant exploring femininity, class, morality, and resistance.
This fabric will be joined with printed newspaper clippings from the June 1948 Mercer prison riot — the second month my 17-year-old grandma arrived there.
🎥 Watch the reel:
A Mercer descendant exploring femininity, class, morality, and resistance.
This fabric will be joined with printed newspaper clippings from the June 1948 Mercer prison riot — the second month my 17-year-old grandma arrived there.
🎥 Watch the reel:
September 20, 2025 at 10:44 PM
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A Mercer descendant exploring femininity, class, morality, and resistance.
This fabric will be joined with printed newspaper clippings from the June 1948 Mercer prison riot — the second month my 17-year-old grandma arrived there.
🎥 Watch the reel:
A Mercer descendant exploring femininity, class, morality, and resistance.
This fabric will be joined with printed newspaper clippings from the June 1948 Mercer prison riot — the second month my 17-year-old grandma arrived there.
🎥 Watch the reel:
Mercer descendant, playing with ideas of femininity, class, morality, and resistance
States: this fabric will be joined with printed newspaper clippings from the June 1948 Mercer prison riot — the second month my 17-year-old grandma arrived there
🎥 Watch the reel: www.facebook.com/reel/1428738...
States: this fabric will be joined with printed newspaper clippings from the June 1948 Mercer prison riot — the second month my 17-year-old grandma arrived there
🎥 Watch the reel: www.facebook.com/reel/1428738...
September 20, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Mercer descendant, playing with ideas of femininity, class, morality, and resistance
States: this fabric will be joined with printed newspaper clippings from the June 1948 Mercer prison riot — the second month my 17-year-old grandma arrived there
🎥 Watch the reel: www.facebook.com/reel/1428738...
States: this fabric will be joined with printed newspaper clippings from the June 1948 Mercer prison riot — the second month my 17-year-old grandma arrived there
🎥 Watch the reel: www.facebook.com/reel/1428738...
Monica's Story: The Hidden Lives of Kids with Imprisoned Moms and Dads
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7N_...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7N_...
September 18, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Monica's Story: The Hidden Lives of Kids with Imprisoned Moms and Dads
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7N_...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7N_...
For adoptees, the YCJA continues to conceal knowledge and block access to records of forced adoptions of mothers criminalized as “juvenile delinquents” in maternity homes, Good Shepherds, the Mercer, asylums, and other carceral sites across Canada.
www.justice.gc.ca/socjs-esjp/e...
www.justice.gc.ca/socjs-esjp/e...
Evolution of Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice System - State of the Criminal Justice System Dashboard
Web Experience Toolkit (WET) includes reusable components for building and maintaining innovative Web sites that are accessible, usable, and interoperable. These reusable components are open source so...
www.justice.gc.ca
September 18, 2025 at 4:16 PM
For adoptees, the YCJA continues to conceal knowledge and block access to records of forced adoptions of mothers criminalized as “juvenile delinquents” in maternity homes, Good Shepherds, the Mercer, asylums, and other carceral sites across Canada.
www.justice.gc.ca/socjs-esjp/e...
www.justice.gc.ca/socjs-esjp/e...