Osoyoos prison agreement inked

BC’s newest prison is one step closer to construction but still at least three years before completion.

On Wednesday, a 60 year service agreement was signed between the province and the Osoyoos Indian band. It’s the first time a provincial corrections centre will be built on native land.

“It’s very important because you have to get the lease signed, formally signed. It’s great to see that done and now the band has a lot of land tied up in this project,” said Chief Clarence Louie, Osoyoos Indian Band.

The province has also narrowed its search for who will design and build the prison down to three teams.

A final selection will be made next year, and shovels are expected to hit he ground shortly after.

“We’re very pleased there are three qualified applicants moving forward,” said Justice Minister Shirley Bond. “It’s exciting to know they’re going to individually go away, look at the project description and come back with what we hope is an innovative and effective corrections facility.”

BC prisons have been at over capacity for years. In 2012, they were at 150% capacity. This year it’s dropped to 140%.

With the nearly 380 new cells at the Oliver prison and 200 being added in Surrey, those numbers should continue dropping.

“We continue to add capacity as we see the crime rate basically dropping or stable and we’re seeing our inmate count drop,” says Bond. “A lot of work has been done to assess whether it meets those needs and certainly that is a big step in the right direction to meeting future and current needs.”

While the new prison will help alleviate crowded jails, it’ll mean much more for the South Okanagan because of jobs.

There will be 1000 direct and indirect jobs during construction and 240 new full-time permanent ones when the corrections centre opens, that’s not including the spinoffs.

Despite some concern by the Osoyoos Indian band the project could be shelved, Bond remains firm there won’t be any disruption to the process — even if there’s a change in government come May.

The prison is expected to be complete fall 2016.