Bell Earned $64 Million from Ontario Inmate Calls, Reveals Lawsuit

Last year, an ongoing proposed class action lawsuit against Bell and Ontario, sought $150 million in damages for the telecom’s collect call system within Ontario jails, which alleged high calling rates compared to other provinces. Both Bell and province refused to reveal profits they made from inmates.

But now, new disclosures revealed by Bell forced by the CRTC, has shed light on how much revenue was generated by the telecom from 2013 to 2021.

“It is unclear how disclosure of historical revenues from a 10-year-old contract and the percentage paid to Ontario as a commission over that time could result in a material financial loss for Bell, given that a new service provider has already replaced Bell to run the OTMS with significantly lower rates,” wrote the CRTC.

The data shows Bell generated over $64 million in gross revenue from calls made by inmates at Ontario jails, with nearly $39 million of that amount paid to the province as commission.

Bell charged $1 per minute plus a $2.50 connection fee for long-distance calls through the Offender Telephone Management System it operated from 2013 to 2021. The jail phone system only allowed outgoing collect calls, which meant inmate families and friends had to agree to and pay for calls before they took place, at Bell’s high rates.

David Sterns, a lawyer for the class action, told the National Post the numbers are “shockingly high.”

“This confirms what we knew to be the case all along, which shows that Bell was gouging the families of the inmates,” he told the Post, adding, “It was pure opportunism. These people were both figuratively and literally captives and Bell swooped in and took advantage of it and shared the spoils with the government of Ontario.”

Over 80% of those incarcerated in Ontario’s jails are awaiting trial and presumed innocent.

One plaintiff in the proposed class-action lawsuit against Bell and Ontario is Ransome Capay, who saw phone bills of $250 to $1,000 while communicating with his son, Adam Capay, during his 4.5 years of solitary confinement.

Bell argued that its rates were in line with CRTC rules, but a lower court found the rates to be four times higher than those charged in other provinces. The CRTC is now assessing the case’s jurisdiction. Insert your ‘Bell Let’s Talk’ mental health joke/meme below.

As for the phone system in Ontario jails? There’s a new system in place run by a different telecom, which offers prepaid and collect calls, plus long distance rates at just pennies per minute.