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News
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Sweeney says penitentiary should be replaced with new
facility at Harbour Grace site October 26, 2005
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George Sweeney, Liberal MHA for the District of Carbonear-Harbour Grace,
says recent reports on the inadequacy of Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in St.
John’s should lead to the phasing out of that facility and the construction
of a new structure at the previously proposed site for a federal
penitentiary identified in Harbour Grace. "There is growing evidence that Her Majesty’s Penitentiary is no longer meeting the needs of the justice system in the province and alternative options should now be explored," said Sweeney. "The Town of Harbour Grace was identified by the federal government in the late 1980s as a site for a penitentiary that was expected to be built and opened in 1993. The project was later cancelled, but the site remains a viable location for such a facility. "Her Majesty’s Penitentiary has been serving the justice system for over a hundred years and has outlived it’s useful life at its current site on the banks of Quidi Vidi Lake. Satellite prisons were built around the province to ease the burden on the site in the 1970s and 80s, but serious problems still exist. Rather than continuing to use inadequate facilities and encouraging leaner sentences, a new facility is likely warranted." During the 1988 federal election, the Mulroney government announced that a federal prison would be built in Newfoundland and Labrador. Following an extensive review by a number of experts in the correctional service of Canada, Harbour Grace was chosen as the preferred site to construct the new penitentiary. At the time, the facility would have cost $30 million to build over four years, $50 million to operate annually and employ 100 full-time people in the community. "I am asking today that Justice Minister Tom Marshall take a serious look at the need for a new facility to replace the penitentiary in St. John’s. The site identified in Harbour Grace for the federal prison that was slated to open in the early 90s is a site worth serious consideration by government to meet the future justice needs in this province." |
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