Liberal leader strongly opposes new jail in Fredericton

The leader of the Liberal opposition party leader says he was "blown away" by the province's decisionto build a $32-million jailin Fredericton.

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 reevaluate 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 increasingcrime across New Brunswick, particularly in regards to drug abuse and trafficking.

There are currently five correctional centres in the province, locatedin Saint John, Madawaska, Dalhousie, Miramichi and Shediac.

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 house100 prisoners.

Melanson said the priority of the provincial government should be hiring more nurses, agreeing to a contract with paramedics and providing services to helpNew Brunswickersovercome 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.

"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.

Boudreau said these statistics only represent one year and that it's difficult to predict what crime rates will be in the futureand 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 jailnear 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."

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.