Watchdog sounds alarm after N.L.'s largest jail runs out of toothbrushes

Newfoundland and Labrador's citizens' representative says his office got a flood of complaints last week stating inmates at Her Majesty's Penitentiary in St. John's were not being given toothbrushes.

Justice department says 1,200 toothbrushes sourced to bridge supply issue

Ryan Cooke · CBC News

· Posted: Oct 27, 2026 5:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

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Bradley Moss has heard a lot of complaints about Her Majesty's Penitentiary during his 24 years with the Office of the Citizens' Representative.

The facility is severely outdated. It's infested by rodents. Recreation and visitation are often cancelled due to staffing shortages.

But last week, he began hearing about a new problem — one that took him by surprise.

"The complaints started on about the 21st of October and they've been coming in bunches throughout the last week about individuals not having access to toothbrushes," Moss told CBC News on Tuesday morning.

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Correctional institutions don't stockpile regular toothbrushes, Moss explained. Those can be sharpened on the ends and used as makeshift weapons in attacks against guards or fellow inmates.

Instead, they use a version of a toothbrush with a short handle made of a flexible material that cannot be whittled into a weapon.

"It's not as easy as running up to the grocery store and buying 200 toothbrushes," Moss said. "It's a safety and security issue. So whether it's a supply chain issue or some shipping delays or whatever, we're not sure."

Moss began forwarding the complaints to the Department of Justice and Public Safety on Oct. 21. He also spoke with the head of corrections, who confirmed there was a shortage but didn't explain what was behind the problem.

Her Majesty's Penitentiary sits near the shores of Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John's. Parts of the facility date back to the 1850s. (Ted Dillon/CBC )

CBC News asked for an interview with Justice Minister Helen Conway Ottenheimer, but were given a statement from a department spokesperson instead.

They also confirmed the shortage, attributing it to shipping delays. The facility went about a week without new toothbrushes, spokesperson Vaughn Hammond said, but officials have since sourced 1,200 new ones from the West Coast Correctional Centre in Stephenville.

"Work is ongoing to resolve the supply issue to ensure there is an adequate supply at all correctional facilities," Hammond wrote.

WATCH |  N.L. government says toothbrushes coming to HMP:

HMP inmates are going without toothbrushes due to shortage

10 minutes ago|

Duration

2:24

Her Majesty's Penitentiary is often the subject of complaints about a range of issues, from overcrowding and staffing shortages to rodent infestations. But now, the province's citizens' representative is speaking up about a problem he's never seen before: A lack of toothbrushes. The CBC's Ryan Cooke reports.

The issue was first raised on social media by Michelle Fowler — the mother of an inmate on remand at Her Majesty's Penitentiary — on Oct. 20. She wrote to the justice minister on Monday. Despite the timeline laid out by the justice department, Fowler said her son hasn't had access to a toothbrush since Oct. 3.

Moss said some members of the public might expect inmates to experience discomfort while being incarcerated, but said there are basic rights that should be afforded to everyone.

"Not giving someone a toothbrush is, I would consider it to be, a pretty rudimentary thing and it's the type of thing that needs to be met."

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ryan Cooke is a justice affairs reporter based in St. John's. He can be reached at ryan.cooke@cbc.ca.