https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/jail-fredericton-minto-1.6954729
N.B. ditched plan to build new jail in Fredericton, despite warnings from deputy minister
Building jail outside city will cost more and put inmates further from services, Mike Comeau argued in emails
Those concerns echoed warnings from staff in the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure that the original site in Fredericton's Vanier Industrial Park area was the only suitable location identified, according to emails reviewed by CBC.
"Do you need an articulation of the downsides to a decision to abandon the selected site and the agreement with the city and go looking for another site, on that list or elsewhere?" Mike Comeau, the deputy minister of justice and public safety, wrote on March 4.
"Specific to the project: there is no site that better meets the needs. Every other site identified is inferior on one or more criteria."
Comeau's email was sent to Public Safety Minister Kris Austin, then-Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Jeff Carr and the deputy minister of transportation and infrastructure, Rob Taylor.
A location further from downtown Fredericton would mean "less access to services, more transportation cost, more carbon footprint, and more risk of escape [or] road incident," Comeau noted in the emails.
Despite Comeau's comments, the Department of Justice and Public Safety announced in May that it wouldn't build the jail in Fredericton, citing "concerns raised by the public who live close to the proposed location" as the reason for reversing course.
Mike
Comeau, the deputy minister of public safety, argued against scrapping
plans to build the jail in Fredericton and starting over elsewhere. (Jacques Poitras/CBC News)
The department didn't explain why the province waited until after Fredericton council had already made the contentious decision to rezone land for the jail to decide it wouldn't build there.
The province has since announced it will build the jail in Minto, which is in Austin's riding.
The Minto site is about 55 kilometres from downtown Fredericton. The original Fredericton location is about 10 kilometres from downtown.
Public safety couldn't find any records
CBC filed a right to information request to the Department of Justice and Public Safety for records about how the minister reached the decision to abandon the Fredericton jail site.
The department told CBC it "failed to retrieve any records relevant to your request."
But it's not because records on the topic don't exist. A separate request to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure uncovered numerous emails back and forth between senior officials in the transportation and public safety departments, leading up to the province's announcement that it would abandon the Fredericton site.
The plan to build a $32-million provincial jail in the Fredericton area was first announced in December 2021, with then-Public Safety Minister Ted Flemming saying the correctional system was "stretched." Since taking over the portfolio in October 2022, Austin has been steadfast on the need for the jail, citing rising crime.
Criminologists and opponents of the jail have argued the money should be spent to address issues such as homelessness and addiction instead.
Fredericton site scored highest in review of 16 locations
In early January, staff in the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure briefed Comeau on the process of selecting the site, ahead of a presentation at Fredericton council.
Mike Cashin, a senior project engineer in the department's buildings division, explained the site selection was facilitated by the infrastructure department. Public Safety reviewed and approved the criteria for the site, while Cashin reviewed each site to give it a score.
Cashin's email says 16 properties in the greater Fredericton and Oromocto area were reviewed, and four were shortlisted for deeper review. The Vanier Industrial Park area site scored highest.
The criteria included being within city limits, close to mental health and addiction services, having good street and highway access, and not being immediately adjacent to residential areas.
This
parcel of land near the Vanier Industrial Park was the original
location for the jail, based on criteria such as its proximity to
downtown Fredericton and the distance from homes. (Google Earth)
Hours after Comeau received the information, he was among several speakers who addressed a packed Fredericton council chamber, including some who opposed the construction of a new jail. Later that month, council approved the rezoning of the land, paving the way toward the sale of the land for the jail.
But the sale wouldn't happen.
On Jan. 30, a week after Fredericton council's vote, Comeau wrote to several people in the public safety and transportation departments, saying he needed a briefing note for multiple ministers.
The note should cover the site selection, status of the agreement with the city, and "implications should [the government of New Brunswick] for some reason decide not to finalize this purchase and build somewhere else," he wrote.
Comeau said both departments should be "fully aligned," noting he'd been confused about who selected the site for the jail up until that very morning.
"Let's make sure we're in agreement on whatever are those facts," Comeau wrote.
On a Sunday morning a few days later, Comeau emailed several people, including Premier Blaine Higgs, Austin and Carr, with the subject line: "advice to Ministers: Fredericton Region Correctional Centre site selection."
The contents of the email — marked of "high" importance — were redacted in the copy provided to CBC.
'There really is no other site worth targeting'
In late February, staff in the transportation department were called to a meeting with the premier to discuss the jail. It's not clear what happened in that meeting. No notes were included in the records given to CBC.
A few days later, Comeau sent Austin, Carr and deputy transportation minister Taylor his argument for why the province shouldn't scrap its plans in Fredericton.
"I think we need to ensure we are moving in the right direction and be able to rationalize it to the local MLA and residents," Austin wrote back to Comeau. "If there are other options that are easier to swallow I'm open to hearing about them as well."
Public
Safety Minister Kris Austin has been adamant that New Brunswick needs a
new jail in the Fredericton region. It will be built in Minto in his
riding. (Aniekan Etuhube/CBC)
Comeau doubled down, and sent a lengthy email to Austin, Carr and Taylor, saying staff in his department who were part of the process concluded "there really is no other site worth targeting," listing several "disadvantages of cancelling this deal and starting over with a search outside the city."
He wrote that 75 to 80 out of 100 people in the new jail are expected to be local to Fredericton.
"The further we get from Fredericton, the longer the drive to move inmates to jail and back, and longer drives mean more risk of escape and collision (and thus cost and injury), more gas and employee time consumed," Comeau wrote.
"It also takes the inmates further away from support services and their loved ones."
Comeau also argued the province couldn't guarantee it would quickly find a parcel of land elsewhere that wouldn't draw the same opposition as the site in Fredericton.
"Jail can draw NIMBY [not in my backyard] fury outside of Lincoln Heights," he wrote.
Comeau's argument didn't seem to have an effect. The next day, staff in the infrastructure department were asked "for points describing the disadvantages of relocating jail build to [the second- and third-ranked sites] or to a rural area." The addresses of the second- and third-ranked sites were redacted in CBC's records.
"Clearly somebody is still pushing against this decision," Mike Johnston, the assistant deputy minister of public safety, wrote.
Price of jail has climbed $10 million
Transportation staff warned that the second- and third-ranked sites weren't feasible options because they were too close to residential areas. They also warned the province would be facing higher costs to build infrastructure for the jail outside the city.
The province opted to cancel plans for the Fredericton site anyway, announcing the decision on May 29, months after residents in the area first raised concerns about the location.
When the province announced the new site in Minto on July 31, it noted the jail is now expected to cost about $42 million, which is $10 million more than the original estimate in December 2021.
Neither Carr, Austin nor Comeau were made available for an interview with CBC to explain why the province made the decision when it did. Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers also wasn't made available for an interview.
"We have no additional comments to make about the location of the correctional centre and no update to provide on seeking reimbursement," City of Fredericton spokesperson Wayne Knorr wrote in an email.
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Liberal leader strongly opposes new jail in Fredericton
Premier says the new correctional centre proposed in response to increasing crime across province
Isabelle Leger · CBC News · Posted: Dec 14, 2021 5:58 PM AST
Mayor Kate Rogers says city spent staff time and money on preparing for jail project
Aidan Cox · CBC News · Posted: Jun 01, 2023 4:24 PM ADT
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Liberal leader strongly opposes new jail in Fredericton
Premier says the new correctional centre proposed in response to increasing crime across province
Roger Melanson and Premier Blaine Higgs engaged in a heated discussion in the legislature Tuesday over the project, announced by the province on Monday.
"You need to re–evaluate your priorities and seriously listen to the needs of your population, because it's not a correctional centre," Melanson told Higgs.
Higgs said the correctional centre project was proposed in response to increasing crime across New Brunswick, particularly in regards to drug abuse and trafficking.
There are currently five correctional centres in the province, located in Saint John, Madawaska, Dalhousie, Miramichi and Shediac.
The Dalhousie Regional Correctional Centre is one of five jails in the province. (CBC)
One is assigned to women and youth, while the remaining are for adult male inmates.
There is currently a capacity for 470 adult male inmates.
As of mid-October, there were 498 adult male inmates in the province, according to a press release Monday.
Higgs said the province has worked with law enforcement to understand the needs of the system.
The new facility will be assigned to adult male inmates and will be able to house 100 prisoners.
Melanson said the priority of the provincial government should be hiring more nurses, agreeing to a contract with paramedics and providing services to help New Brunswickers overcome drug addiction.
"We have health professionals who could, instead of incarcerating them, prevent them from being in a position where they need to go to jail," said Melanson.
Premier Blaine Higgs said the correctional centre will fulfill a "need" in the province. (Government of New Brunswick)
"Of all of the challenges that we have in our province and all of the infrastructure investments that need to be made... change your decision," he said.
Higgs said the province has made "major" improvements in social development in recent years and that this correctional centre is a need.
'Not entirely needed'
Michael Boudreau, a professor of criminology at St. Thomas University, said the correctional centre isn't "entirely needed."
He said, based on statistics from 2019 to 2020 for crimes in New Brunswick, there was a decrease in serious crimes, including attempted murder, robbery and homicide.
Boudreau said there was an increase in "non-violent offences," including identity theft, online fraud and child and drug trafficking.
"The province may be thinking, as a result of that and their recent admonishment to the RCMP to increase their protocols and arrests for drug use, that there may indeed be a need for a new facility," said Boudreau.
Michael Bourdreau, a criminology professor at St. Thomas
University, says the correctional centre isn't "entirely needed." (CBC )
Boudreau said these statistics only represent one year and that it's difficult to predict what crime rates will be in the future and he questions whether building a new correctional centre is an "appropriate use of funds."
"Perhaps funds should also go to treatment, especially for those who have addictions, because if you solve the addictions problem you will then solve the trafficking problem," he said.
He said having a jail near the incoming courthouse development might be more convenient for transporting inmates, but he doesn't think that warrants building a new facility.
Boudreau said the project would create jobs during the construction of the centre, but it likely won't "radically" increase overall positions within law enforcement for the long-term.
Economical growth
Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers said she welcomes the idea because it will bring more jobs to the region.
"We're pleased, there will be opportunities that come with it," said Rogers.
"The jobs that will come with the building of the centre, as well as the correctional jobs that will come afterwards, so that's good news."
Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers said she is pleased by the
announcement, because the facility will create jobs. (Jon
Collicott/CBC)
She said the city was only made aware of the project Monday morning.
Rogers said the location is still unknown, but hopes to work with the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure to find a suitable area for the correctional centre.
She said council recently developed a municipal plan that identifies locations for different types of facilities in the city and expects that will help guide the process.
Rogers said she "presumes" there is a need for the facility, but urged that there are other issues, including housing and mental health, that also require significant funding.
"This by no means downplays the other needs that we also have," she said.
I'm so old that I recall a Wackenhut experience. McKenna years - privatize almost everything.
Instead of talking about the RIFNB, you just resort to name calling... nice.
Let's move on.
Fredericton to seek more than $100K in costs associated with cancelled jail plan
Mayor Kate Rogers says city spent staff time and money on preparing for jail project
Those costs came from site preparation and staff time used up to accommodate the government's proposal to buy 25 acres from the city, then rezone the land so the province could build a new $42-million corrections centre.
"Most of it is just development costs and prepping of the land," Rogers said Thursday.
"Clearly, a lot of planning time also went into making this reality," she said, citing the required rezoning, which had to go through the planning advisory committee as well.
"So there was a lot of that type of staff time."
On Monday, four months after the city gave the province the approval to build a jail, the Department of Justice and Public Safety issued a brief news release saying it would no longer build it in Fredericton.
That process had started last fall, with councillors agreeing to sell the province a plot of city-owned land to build it in the Vanier Industrial Park.
The
city was planning to sell the provincial government a piece of land in
the Vanier Industrial Park for a jail to be built on and had already
approved the necessary rezoning for the project. (Google Earth)
The land then had to be rezoned, which involved consideration by the city's planning advisory committee, which recommended against granting the rezoning.
In January, the decision came to councillors, who heard a myriad of submissions from the public, with some for the jail, and many — primarily in the Lincoln Heights neighbourhood — against it.
Councillors ultimately voted in favour of granting the rezoning, which was required for the land sale to go through.
In its news release, the Department of Justice and Public Safety said it cancelled its plan over concerns raised by residents, adding that it is now looking at a location outside the city to minimize any perceived impact on residents.
Initially announced in fall 2021, the proposal to build a jail in Fredericton was something Rogers welcomed, citing positive economic spin-offs expected from the new jobs that would be created to staff it.
On Thursday, Rogers avoided sharing her personal reaction to the province's latest decision.
"We will have to find ways now to find those economic spin-offs in other ways, which we will do," she said.
"These things happen, and I think that is part of our role as leaders, is accepting that, and... making sure that whatever tax-payer money went in to trying to make this facility a reality that, that those costs are covered."
Rogers said she hasn't spoken with provincial officials about their willingness to reimburse the city for costs associated with the jail proposal.
"I'm quite certain we have a very productive working relationship," she said. "I'm quite certain that will all fall out as it should."
CBC News asked for an interview with Justice and Public Safety Minister Kris Austin Thursday but did not receive one before deadline.
Justice
and Public Safety Minister Kris Austin's department issued a statement
saying residents' concerns prompted the decision to no longer build a
jail in Fredericton. (Patrick Richard/CBC)
Austin hasn't yet spoken publicly about the decision to no longer build a jail in Fredericton.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Premier Blaine Higgs said "significant opposition" to the Fredericton location was the reason his government opted out of the plan.
He said the province was still looking at other locations where the jail could potentially be built instead.
Surrounding municipal councils have since made pitches to the province to have the jail built in their communities.
Those include Grand Lake, which Austin's riding is included in, as well as Arcadia, which is part of Gagetown-Petitcodiac MLA Ross Wetmore's riding.
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Why did we elect her???? she is out of touch with reality!!!
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