THUNDER BAY - Work has begun on an expansion to the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre, which is expected to help relieve overcrowding issues at the facility and the Thunder Bay District Jail.
“Projects have a tendency to get pushed back or delayed so it’s always a relief to see work start,” said Shawn Bradshaw, president of OPSEU local 708 at Thunder Bay Correctional Centre.
Expansions to the Correctional Centre and Kenora Jail were announced by the provincial government last October to address issues of overcrowding and are part of the province’s $500 million plan to transform correctional services in Ontario.
The 50-bed expansion at the Correctional Centre will also allow for increased access to literacy, skills development, and technology programs.
“It will be an interesting change in that it’s a new facility, new style of corrections than what we’ve seen in Thunder Bay,” Bradshaw said. “It will provide 50 additional beds and more programming space. Depending on what happens with COVID, we will see how we fill the building.”
In March, Bird Construction Inc. was awarded the contract to build the expansion and following some brief weather delays, work got underway in late April.
A security fence is being put in, as well as an access road. Work on the expansion is expected to take one year.
Overcrowding at the Correctional Centre and Thunder Bay District Jail has been an ongoing issue for years, as well as growing demands for a new facility.
The provincial government has promised to build a new 325-bed facility to replace the District Jail but no timelines have been given.
“I think you are going to see us continuing to struggle with capacity issues. This will definitely help and bridge us over to the new building,” Bradshaw said.
“But if things go back to normal and the judicial system continues to incarcerate people the way they have been, I think you will see the same issues pop up. This will help though. Fifty beds is a lot of space.”
Bradshaw added that when the new facility is built, it will be connected to the expansion currently under construction.
“It is very similar in style to what they are going to build us, so it looks like they will probably just add that on,” he said. “It’s not going to be used for four years and get mothballed, so that is encouraging too.”
The Thunder Bay Correctional Centre is currently at approximately two-thirds capacity.
According to Bradshaw, efforts to reduce incarceration rates during the pandemic through loosening bail restrictions and granting releases has actually done more harm than good when it comes to capacity issues.
Bradshaw said people are being released with fewer supports in place due to the pandemic and those with substance abuse issues end up falling through the cracks and are more likely to reoffend.
“It’s very much a boomerang effect and it really hasn’t helped and has created more problems for us,” he said.
