Beds for 90 more inmates will be added to two minimum-security federal prisons in Saskatchewan as part of the Federal government’s preparation for an expected influx of prisoners resulting from last year’s elimination of double credit for remand time.
A 50-bed stand-alone facility will be added to Prince Albert’s Riverbend Institution, which houses 126 inmates and has had a waiting list of applicants from higher-security institutions, including the adjacent Saskatchewan Penitentiary, for the past six months, said deputy warden Wanita Koczka.
The capacity of Willow Cree Healing Lodge at Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation will double, with space for 40 more beds created in four new stand-alone structures, said spokesperson, Tracey Robinson.
"Everybody knows with that legislation there would be an increase in offender populations," Robinson said.
"I think Canadians are going to be glad (the Correctional Service of Canada is) taking proactive measure," she said.
The Saskatchewan construction will cost $20 million over three years, the federal government announced Monday in Edmonton, where a further $35 million was announced for the addition of 96 beds to the maximum-security prison there.
Edmonton MP Laurie Hawn unveiled the Prairie Region expansion plans, which are part of a $2-billion expansion of more than two dozen prisons across Canada.
Built in 1978, Edmonton Institution has a capacity of 222 prisoners, although it is currently holding 284.
Similar announcements were scheduled by three other Conservative MPs throughout the country.
The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) will also add 4,119 staff positions to work in the expanded prisons, said acting regional spokesperson April Morris.
CSC commissioner Don Head, told the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates in October that the government’s criminal justice initiatives will result in "a considerable increase" in prisoners over a short period of time.
CSC estimates there will be a total penitentiary population of about 18,700 by the end of March 2014, up from 14,900 expected before the changes, he said. Most of the increase is attributed to the new law.
"The primary impact of the legislation will be a significant and sustained increase to the federal offender population over time," Head said at the time.
Bill C-24, the Truth in Sentencing Act, replaced the two-for-one credit for time in custody before sentencing with one day of credit for each day served in provincial detention.
"Consequently, many offenders who would have previously received a provincial sentence will now serve a federal sentence of two years or more, and those who would have received a federal sentence will now receive a longer federal sentence," Head said.
The largest increase in the prison population is expected in the Prairie region, where corrections officials anticipate a need for more than 700 more spaces, he said.
Monday’s announcement of 186 new beds for the Prairie region is in addition to 438 beds announced earlier this year for institutions in Alberta and Manitoba, Morris said.
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