Feds should help cover prison costs: N.L. minister

Newfoundland and Labrador's justice minister said Wednesday if Ottawa's tough on crime agenda is going to cost the province more than it can afford, the federal government should help cover the cost.

Ottawa's proposed truth in sentencing act would limit the credit a judge could allow for time already served. The parliamentary budget officer estimates it would add about 159 days to most sentences, which means the average time a prisoner would spend in federal custody would go from 563 days to 722.

Under the new act, total prison costs could go up to $9.5 billion annually by 2016, up from $4.4 billion this year.

Provincial Justice Minister Felix Collins said Newfoundland and Labrador's corrections system is already bursting at the seams and can't handle any more increases in the inmate population. If Ottawa wants to put more people in jail for a longer period of time, Collins said the federal government should help foot the bill.

"At the end of the day, if there is a financial impact from this, the feds are going to have to come to the table," said Collins. "And that's the position shared by all the jurisdictions across the country." 

Short on cells

According to Collins, Her Majesty's Penitentiary in St. John's already is filled to capacity, with too many prisoners and too few beds. The proposed changes could potentially push it and smaller jails across the province over the edge.

"It's going to have a two-fold impact on us. It will have a financial impact and it will have a capacity impact. We are already overcrowded and we have a lot of problems with regards to overcrowding in our facilities," said Collins.

Justice officials in Newfoundland and Labrador are currently in the middle of a sweeping review of the province's prison system. Among other things, Collins said they are looking at ways to ease the population crunch at the penitentiary and modernize facilities across the province.

In Ottawa on Wednesday, parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page said the proposed policy would cost billions to implement and maintain, adding that much of the expense will be downloaded to the provinces.  

"The provinces and the territories carry the weight of the correctional services system in Canada so the impact is going to be enormous on the provinces and territories," said Page.