Fix on way for Baffin Correctional Centre
Federal and territorial funds aims to repair facility panned in 2015 Auditor General's report
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, February 6, 2017
IQALUIT
The future Qikiqtani Correctional Healing Centre officially received the funding it needs to become a reality by 2020, at an estimated total cost of $75.8 million.
Justice and Finance Minister Keith Peterson speaks about the years it took to secure federal funding to repair Baffin Correctional Centre, with, from left, Iqaluit Mayor Madeleine Redfern, Minister of Community and Government Services Joe Savikataaq, Assistant Deputy Minister of Justice Yvonne Niego and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister for Youth Peter Schiefke. - Michele LeTourneau/NNSL photo |
The federal funding was announced by Parliamentary Secretary for Youth to the Prime Minister Peter Schiefke, on behalf of Infrastructure and Communities Minister Amarjeet Sohi.
"The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of investing in infrastructure that supports safe, cohesive, and vibrant communities," said Schiefke. "Along with our Inuit and territorial partners, we are committed to making sure Northern communities obtain the support they need to help grow the economy and address local infrastructure priorities."
According to Community and Government Services Minister Joe Savikataaq, the GN will contribute $19.2 million, while the remaining $56.6 million comes from the Government of Canada through the Small Communities Fund.
"The Baffin Correctional Centre (BCC) was built back in 1986 and is not suitable for Nunavut's modern needs," said Savikataaq.
Justice and Finance Minister Keith Peterson said it was almost eight years to the day he became aware of the abysmal conditions at BCC.
"I have to say, my first time around as Minister of Justice - I was appointed Jan. 29, 2009 - I went for a briefing at the Department of Justice. We got around to the Baffin Correctional Centre and they started telling me stories," said Peterson, adding he asked to be shown the realities rather than hear about them. "On Jan. 30, I had the tour. I was quite shocked at what I saw. It wasn't a pretty sight."
In 2013, the Office of the Correctional Investigator publicly documented the conditions at Baffin Correctional Centre. In March 2015, auditor general Michael Ferguson's report on corrections in Nunavut noted the Department of Justice was doing very little to correct what he said were insecure and unsafe conditions for inmates and staff at BCC. Inmates weren't being rehabilitated, staff training was lacking, and their jobs were tenuous, according to the report.
In November 2015, the total cost of a repair and renovation of BCC was estimated at approximately $68 million. A design brief was released in October 2016. With the funding go-ahead, construction of the Qikiqtani Correctional Healing Centre is expected to begin in July 2018.
"The centre will resolve many of the issues identified by the Office of the Auditor General and the Office of the Correctional Investigator and allow for incarcerated Nunavummiut an environment for appropriate cultural programming to occur for healing and rehabilitation for eventual release back to their communities," Peterson said.
According to the description of the work to be done, the first phase of the project will include the construction of a new two-storey maximum security unit. This means maximum-security inmates currently housed in the south will be able to return home to Nunavut. The second phase will renovate the existing BCC into two medium-security living units, along with program and counseling spaces.
"Once complete, it will accommodate 112 beds and meet modern security standards, increasing the safety both of staff and inmates," states the document.
Skills training will be part of the programming offered inmates.
Assistant Deputy Minister for the GN Department of Justice Yvonne Niego told Nunavut News/North the new and improved facility will offer the opportunity to renew programming.
"If you've ever walked in there (the existing Baffin Correction Centre), it's very difficult to operate programming," she told Nunavut News/North, adding a correctional facility must be first concerned with safety and security. "The new correctional healing centre will be safe and secure and that means we can provide better programming that will better serve our clients."
The renaming of the facility to include the term "healing" is deliberate, to better reflect what Niego says should be a process for clients' betterment, or mamisarvik, which she said means "to find yourself."
"We're getting totally away from the BCC reputation and modifying programs for the clients," said Niego.
The new Qikiqtani Correctional Healing Centre will have 112 beds, which combined with the 48 beds of the Makigiarvik minimum security facility, will be sufficient for the next 25 years, Chris Stewart, manager of capital projects with Community and Government Services, told Nunavut News/North. A 2012 consultant's report said 160 beds would be needed 30 years later.
