Internal N.L. briefing flags $150M in federal funding for 'new HMP'

A briefing deck prepared for top provincial Treasury Board officials this summer indicated that Newfoundland and Labrador received "$150 million federal revenue for new HMP" in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

CBC News obtained that internal document late last week, through access to information.

In February, online business publication allNewfoundlandLabrador reported that Ottawa could provide $150 million towardthe construction of a replacement for Her Majesty's Penitentiary.

The next month, then-infrastructure minister John Abbott told reporters that negotiations were ongoing between Ottawa and the provincial finance department.

"Until that's finalized, we won't be making any further statement," Abbott said, according to a March 11 story in the St. John's Telegram.

According to internal government documents and public financial records, it appears the federal money materialized soon afterwards.

The 2023-24 fiscal year ended on March 31.

The cash statements of the province's public accounts, tabled in August, list $150 million of federal revenue on a budget line for "building infrastructure" in the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure for that year.

There does not appear to have been a public announcement of any transfer of federal funds.

An array of provincial government departments with a stake in the issue Finance, Treasury Board, Justice and Public Safety, and Transportation and Infrastructure did not make anyone available to do interviews withCBC Newsabout the $150-million infusion from Ottawa.

Last week, Justice Minister Bernard Davis provided conflicting information when asked whether the province has received federal funding to replace HMP.

"Not at this point," Davis told reporters on Friday. "Obviously we would be welcome to receive any funding from the federal government on that."

On Tuesday afternoon, after the publication of this story, the Justice Department sent a statement that did not directly address the $150 million, but said "work with the federal government is ongoing and the province considers it a positive that they recognize the importance of a new facility."

Meanwhile, officials in Ottawa did not provide further details in response toinquiries from CBC News, steering those requests back to the province.

HMP plagued by rodents, heat, staffing woes

A replacement for Her Majesty's Penitentiary has long been on the provincial government's radar.

The crumbling facility parts of which date back to the 1850s has been plagued by a litany of issues in recent years.

• Officers have filed scores of scathing reports about 'unfit' conditions at HMP. We obtained them
• Rodent bites, extreme heat and a staffing shortage mark a summer at N.L.'s biggest jail

Lawyers say inmates are missing programming and medical appointments because of staffing challenges, and their clients are being bitten by rodents.

• This HMP inmate says a rat gave birth in his pants but it was no surprise

A lawsuit filed this year alleged that an inmate died in part "from complications arising from being subjected to inhumane conditions."

• Father of Seamus Flynn sues N.L. government over death of son jailed at HMP

In the spring of 2019, the province announced the construction of a new correctional facility that would more than double the capacity of HMP.

An access-to-information request in March 2022 revealed the government's "affordability ceiling" was $325 million. But spiralling cost estimates led officials to shelve that process, and go back to the drawing board.

Just before the 2023 Christmas holidays, government officials reissued a request for qualifications for the replacement of HMP. They said the scope of the project had been adjusted, citing climbing costs.

In April, the province announced the selection of the sole bidder to move forward with that work.

• N.L. proceeds with HMP replacement after accepting sole applicant

The government has budgeted $15 million in spending over the next two years to upgrade the current facility, while work is underway on a replacement.

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