VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - A new prison has been announced for the Okanagan and it is the first time the province has partnered with a first nations band. But there are concerns the $200-million jail is not enough to offset currently overcrowded facilities.
Dean Purdy speaks for the union representing sheriffs and jail staff. He's says it's a good first step but the need for space is immediate. "It's a move in the right direction but because it is three to five years from opening, we won't see very much relief from the overcrowding in the interim."
Purdy claims things current trends and the federal omnibus bill will push populations in jails up.
"This is a good long-term solution to the overcrowding," says Purdy. "With the expected increase in counts and the impact of the
Harper government's crime bill, the counts inside our nine provincial jails will continue to rise by 15 to 20 per cent."
Chief Clarence Louie of the
Osoyoos Indian Band admits there are too many first nations people in jail. He thinks the new facility could change that, "We hope that this project, being the first of its kind on an Indian Reserve, that we can work out and change the statistics of aboriginal incarceration in this country."
Louie expects it will employ some of band members, "Our people want to be involved with the rehabiliation of our people and we hope that this project sets the standard of what can be done in corrections."
The 360-cell correctional institute on Osoyoos Indian Band land is expected to create over 200 jobs for the institution, and 1000 others in the area. The jail is expected to be completed by 2015.
The specific location of the planned jail is approximately seven kilometres north of Oliver.