The estimated cost of a new provincial jail being built in Fredericton, N.B., has increased by nearly a third from what was originally proposed.
Public safety minister Kris Austin told the legislature’s estimates committee that the project will now cost $42 million, up from $32 million when it was first announced, due to increased costs for building materials.
Austin says that an increase in crime in the province and a near-capacity corrections system justifies the expense.
“It is abundantly clear, crime is up in New Brunswick in every single category, it is also above the national average in several categories,” he said.
“We have a problem here, there’s no question. You cannot simply ignore it from a law enforcement side.”
The province has been heavily criticized for the jail, which was first announced in 2021.
Data released by the province shows that jails were not over capacity at the time the jail was announced, even as concerns over space were used as the main justification. The system has been over capacity at times over the last year and Austin said it was 97 per cent full as of last month.
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Residents of the nearby Lincoln Heights neighbourhood turned out enmasse to a Fredericton city council meeting to oppose the zoning change required to build the jail and some experts have questioned whether or not the money could be better spent on addressing the root causes of crime.
Green MLA Megan Mitton echoed some of those concerns Thursday, asking if the money could be better spent elsewhere.
“While it’s understandable to want to turn towards these things there needs to be more of a focus on housing, on addressing the root causes of these things,” she said.
“The expression ‘if the only tool you have is a hammer you tend to see every problem as a nail’ comes to mind with this situation.”
Austin said he understands that investing in law enforcement can’t solve crime alone, and said the government is making investments in mental health and addiction services as well as in a new program specifically intended to cut recidivism rates.
Last month’s budget earmarked $3.7 million for the Integrated Correctional Program Model, a program that has shown some success in combating recidivism in the federal system.
“People come in there, they’ve obviously made some bad choices,” he said. “We want to help them chart a different course and that’s what this program is designed to do.”
But with the increasing cost of the jail and $32.6 million to hire 80 new police officers across the province, Mitton says that balance of funding is tilted too far towards addressing the symptoms of crime rather than the cause.
“I would argue that there is a disproportionate focus on funding policing and prisons and not enough on the mental health, addictions, housing, eliminating poverty and other issues in our communities,” she said.
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