A scathing review of the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre has been released by the head of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

Renu Mandhane has penned a letter to the Ministry of the Solicitor General following a recent tour of the beleaguered jail and interviews with prisoners and staff.

Mandhane slams the government for the conditions at the facility calling them, "the worst she has seen in Ontario."

She also says the conditions at EMDC fall well-short of the United Nations’ standard minimum rules for treatment of prisoners and have a disproportionate impact on vulnerable prisoners.

She also feels that simply hiring more guards won't resolve the problems at the jail.

Read the full letter here.