Work on $66M jail in Minto pushes ahead, but some criminologists aren't happy
Nick Parker | CBC News | Posted: July 9, 2024 9:00 AM | Last Updated: July 9
Some criminologists say the province needs to fund more social services instead
Construction of the new $66-million jail in Minto is well underway, a spokesperson for the province says.
Officials say the work is happening in three phases, the first of which involved land-clearing and road construction. Phase two, which began recently, involves excavation and work on sewer and water infrastructure, among other things.
Tenders will be issued in August for foundation and steel work needed for phase three. The target date for completion is late 2026, according to the province. Bird Construction has been selected as the construction manager for the project.
The province cited rising crime and capacity concerns as the reasons for the new facility when it announced the project in 2021.
In a recent statement, a spokesperson told CBC News that its correctional facilities "are regularly operating at full or over-capacity," which isn't optimal for the health and safety of officers or inmates.
WATCH | Work on $66-million jail moves into its second phase:
The latest custody data from the province in May shows the highest number of people held on a single day in New Brunswick jails was 558. Total capacity is 526 in the province.
However, the data does not distinguish between those serving a sentence inside the jail, on remand, or "those presently in hospital, clients on a supervised temporary release as part of their case plan, and anyone unlawfully at large."
The new facility will only hold those sentenced to terms of imprisonment of less than two years, adults on remand and those awaiting trial or sentencing.
Prisons 'become hell holes,' criminologist says
Alongside investments in the jail, the province says it has invested $3.7 million in programming to assist inmates. The province says the programs are a way to help reduce repeat offending.
Justin Piché, a professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, said more work needs to be done before people end up in jails to begin with, including investing in youth.
"History has shown us that these so-called rehabilitative prisons eventually become hell holes. And then we're back at square one again. So why don't we address the needs that exist in our communities before people come into conflict with the law?" Piché said.
"We know that for every dollar that we spend upstream on prevention, we save $7 that would cost for cops, courts, cages and victim services."
According to 2021/2022 data from Statistics Canada, it costs about $278 per day to keep each inmate in custody in the province of New Brunswick.
Piché said those costs could fund youth initiatives like meals and mentoring programs, or it pay for drug-treatment services.
The province said crime has been trending upward for several years.
When asked about its initiatives to reduce crime, the province said it has implemented "several initiatives over the past several years to increase the number of police officers and Crown prosecutors, strengthen and create legislation to reduce crime and is funding new education and rehabilitation programs."
Jean Sauvageau, a professor of criminology at St. Thomas University, said when health care, mental health and homelessness problems fester, they can build into a "very significant problem."
"The thinking seems to be that yet again, we have to resort to more police officers, which is one of the discourses and seemingly actions undertaken by the provincial government a couple of years ago and along with a new prison," Sauvageau said.
According to the latest statistics from the Government of New Brunswick website, the number of reported crimes rose 20 per cent from 2018 to 2022.
Moving to Minto
Jacques LeBlanc, MLA for the Shediac-Beaubassin-Cap-Pelé riding and public safety critic for New Brunswick, said he's concerned that the location of the jail may take inmates away from specialized services.
"It was earmarked to be in an urban setting closer to services like the hospitals, like the courthouse … to be in an urban area closer to centres where we could offer those major services, but also attract the specialized people," LeBlanc said.
He also raised concerns about the long commute between the new location and the courthouse in Fredericton.
According to the province, the location was chosen because it scored high on various criteria, including being within a 60-minute maximum travel time to Fredericton.
Grand Lake is also within Public Safety Minister Kris Austin's riding.
"They'd be commuting to the new courthouse that's downtown Fredericton or at those hospitals when an inmate needs help," LeBlanc said. "Fifty kilometres is still quite a ways."
According to Google Maps, the drive is typically 45 to 50 minutes from the jail to the court house.
When the project was announced in 2021, the plan was to build the facility in the Vanier Industrial Park on Fredericton's south side.
At that time, the cost was estimated to be $32 million. But due to concerns from the community, the site was moved to Grand Lake in 2023 and the cost estimate rose to $42 million that year. The current estimate of $66 million was released in April 2024.
The province has attributed this increases to inflation.
"Changes to total project costs have been reflective of inflation within the construction industry, with construction costs increasing annually since 2021," a spokesperson for the province said.
Fredericton lost $100,000 in preparation costs in 2023 due to the relocation, prompting Mayor Kate Rogers to say they would be going after the province to foot the bill.
The costs were due to site preparation and staff time used up to accommodate the government's proposal to buy 25 acres of land from the city that needed to be rezoned.
A city spokesperson told CBC News that in the end, the province "made the city whole."
"The city appreciates the ongoing partnership with the province," Shasta Stairs said.
'Our community supports this project'
Grand Lake Mayor Kevin Nicklin said his community is excited to see the project completed.
"Having the stability of long-term employment at a facility will be wonderful for our community. And then the spinoff of people coming and going, the restaurants, the gas stations, the convenience store, all of that sort of thing — it can only benefit our community," Nicklin said.
Nicklin said he hopes the local contractors can be involved in the construction process as well.
In June, the province announced its partnership with the New Brunswick Community College to train correctional officers for the facility. Students would be enrolled in its two-year justice studies program.
Nicklin said the college was asked if the training could be done in Minto to help locals with travel costs. Eighteen people have registered for the training so far.
The goal "is to keep the costs as low as we possibly can, get as many people in and trained as possible, and provide an offering ... that would be local and they wouldn't have to leave home," Nicklin said.