Fredericton councillors heckled as they approve rezoning to allow for new jail
Mayor Kate Rogers warns jeering spectators to remain respectful during meeting
Fredericton councillors approved a zoning amendment Monday night to allow the construction of a controversial provincial jail in the city's industrial park, during an emotionally charged meeting that rang with applause and jeers from spectators.
The 7-4 vote was met by heckling from some of the roughly 75 spectators in the council chamber's third-floor viewing gallery, with someone dropping shredded pieces of paper onto city staff members one floor below.
Council's vote followed about half an hour of discussion on the third and final reading of a bylaw to amend the zoning of a 25-hectare plot of land in the Vanier Industrial Park to allow the New Brunswick government to construct a correctional centre on it.
The provincial government announced its plans in 2021 to build a new jail in the Fredericton area. The government claims it needs to relieve overcapacity at its four existing jails.
CBC News reported this week the government recently started counting people serving their sentences in the community as part of the jail population.
Councillors Greg Ericson, Eric Megarity, Jocelyn Pike, Henri Mallet, Jason Lejeune, Steven Hicks and Bruce Grandy voted in favour of the motion, while Margo Sheppard, Cassandra LeBlanc, Ruth Breen and Kevin Darrah voted against it.
"I tried to stay neutral through the whole thing," said Kevin Darrah, whose ward includes the site of the proposed jail, speaking to reporters after the meeting.
"I'm elected as a member of government, so I do have to be as [impartial] as I can be, and I did that and I try to stay emotionally disconnected from the process, although tonight was a different story."
Coun.
Kevin Darrah voted against the motion to amend the property's zoning,
arguing a jail would negatively affect the city and his own
neighbourhood of Lincoln Heights. (Aidan Cox/CBC)
Darrah, who grew up in Lincoln Heights, became emotional as he spoke during the meeting about how a jail would change the city, and especially the nearby neighbourhood.
"This isn't about approving a heated parking lot next to a park for a roundhouse," Darrah said prior to the vote.
"This is about a prison next to one of the best neighbourhoods in the city of Fredericton." Some in the audience applauded the remark.
Facility will 'bring good jobs,' councillor says
Last November, councillors voted 6-4 in favour of the sale, valued at $1,075,000, but the transaction still hinged on councillors voting in favour of rezoning.
At the first and second reading on Jan. 9, members of the public had their chance to weigh in, with about 100 people packing the spectators' gallery at city hall.
Most councillors who spoke Monday night said the decision was a difficult one to make, considering the amount of public pushback.
Speaking just before the vote, Pike said she heard from many residents who said they'd feel unsafe with a jail a few kilometres from their homes.
However, Pike said the jail would be a secure state-of-the-art facility that brings jobs to the city, and will ensure that area residents who become incarcerated are close to their family, as they'll no longer be jailed at the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre.
"This facility will bring good jobs into our city," she said.
"The spinoffs for our local economy will be positive and we'll ensure incarcerated individuals are provided with the absolute best environment for rehabilitation and to ensure a positive outcome."
Pike's comments were followed by a verbal outburst from someone in the gallery, prompting a stern warning from Mayor Kate Rogers.
"Everyone who's in the gallery, we are very happy that you are here to engage in this process but please be respectful of everyone who speaks," Rogers said.
"We don't all agree. You see us sitting around here — we don't all agree but we are respectful of each other and I ask the same of you."
Fight not over, homeowner says
Spectators left the council chambers immediately after the vote was cast.
Lindsay Richardson, who watched the meeting from the viewing gallery, said he was disappointed with the outcome.
Lindsay
Richardson, a Lincoln Heights resident, said he and other neighbours
plan on filing a court injunction to stop the provincial government from
building a new jail in the Vanier Industrial Park. (Aidan Cox/CBC)
"We're gonna take it to the next level," Richardson said. "A court injunction, whatever it takes, we ain't going away."
Richardson, who lives in Lincoln Heights, said he doesn't think it's fair for property owners to have a jail built within a few kilometres of their homes.
"The property owners in the area are gonna pay the brunt. We're gonna be the ones that are gonna take the take the hit," he said.
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Motion passes first and second reading; third and final reading coming Jan. 23
About 100 people filled the third-floor viewing gallery that overlooks councillors, as members of the public spoke largely in opposition to a proposed zoning amendment that would allow construction of a $32 million jail in the Vanier Industrial Park.
Councillors heard from 10 people, including former New Brunswick ombudsman Charles Murray, who is now the province's integrity commissioner; addictions rehab specialist Dr. Sara Davidson; public safety deputy minister Mike Comeau, and several residents of the Lincoln Heights neighbourhood.
"I have rarely felt unsafe in my community, but this proposal has forced me to think about what my life might be should this be approved," said Erin Mattinson, a 17-year resident of Lincoln Heights.
"Council members, I urge you to reject this proposal. I urge you to be the change. Let's make Fredericton a safer place to be by rejecting this rezoning proposal and changing the conversation."
The New Brunswick government announced in fall 2021 that it planned to build a new jail in the Fredericton area to relieve overcapacity at its four existing jails.
The province's desired location for the jail came out last November when Fredericton councillors were required to vote on whether to sell to the province a 25-hectare plot of land where the 100-bed jail would go.
Councillors voted 6-4 in favour of the sale, valued at $1,075,000, but it still hinged on councillors voting in favour of the land being rezoned to allow a jail.
Last December, the city's planning advisory committee recommended councillors deny the application to rezone the property.
A
map of the proposed location of a provincial jail presented shows the
closest homes in the Lincoln Heights neighbourhood would be about 1,137
metres away. (City of Fredericton)
On Monday, the motion to amend the zoning for the property went before councillors for first and second reading, which also gave members of the public the opportunity to raise any concerns.
Councillors voted 7-4 in favour of the motion, with councillors Steven Hicks, Jason Lejeune, Eric Megarity, Bruce Grandy, Jocelyn Pike, Greg Ericson, and Henri Mallet giving their approval.
Councillors Margo Sheppard, Kevin Darrah, who's ward covers the proposed site of the jail, Ruth Breen, and Cassandra LeBlanc, voted against the motion.
The motion still needs to be voted on following a third and final reading, which will take place during the Jan. 23 council meeting.
Concerns brought forward by speakers included fears that a jail could hurt the property values of nearby homes, while some said they would no longer feel safe with a jail located a few kilometres from where they and their children live.
Other speakers weren't against the proposed location, but were against the use of jails in general as a means to rehabilitate criminal offenders.
Murray, who served as New Brunswick's ombudsman for eight years and has been integrity commissioner for two, was the only person to address council, aside from Comeau, who spoke in favour of the rezoning proposal.
New
Brunswick integrity commissioner Charles Murray, the province's former
ombudsman, spoke in favour of having a jail built in Fredericton. (Aidan Cox/CBC)
He said the nearest option now for jailing criminal offenders from Fredericton is about an hour away.
The effect is that inmates are taken away from their families and the community supports that would help with their rehabilitation and transition back into society once released.
"That's why I'd ask you to not stigmatize offenders and not see them as a danger," Murray said.
"They're our fellow citizens who will come back to our community no matter where they serve their jail time. … Do we want them to come back, having had the support and rehabilitation here, or do you want to exile them somewhere, cut them off from their family and their supports, and make their transition back that much harder? That's the real choice."
Davidson, meanwhile, spoke about her experience running River Stone Recovery Centre, a drug treatment clinic in downtown Fredericton.
She told councillors more housing and addiction supports are needed, rather than a new jail.
"Putting people with mental health issues and substance use disorder behind bars will not make our communities feel safer when the people you're incarcerating have no housing, no social programming or no social safety net to return to," Davidson said.
"It will perpetuate an endless expensive cycle that just continues to get worse."
Speaking later, Comeau said it's not an "either/or" situation between jails and drug rehabilitation, adding that the province was investing about $170 million this fiscal year in addiction and mental health supports.
Regarding the land proposed for the jail, Comeau said it would have been chosen by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure based on a points system.
He said the selected site benefited from being at least 22 acres and accessible by road from multiple angles.
Conflict of interest accusation
Valerya Edelman, a social worker, also spoke in opposition to the proposed zoning amendment and accused Hicks and Grandy of being in a conflict of interest on the matter.
Hicks works as a probation officer with the Department of Public Safety, and Grandy is a director within the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.
The two didn't declare a conflict of interest before the motion was read and ultimately voted on it.
The two declined interviews about the accusation, and city spokesperson Wayne Knorr forwarded the council code of conduct, outlining rules about conflict of interest.
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