P.A. Correctional to become re-direction site for Saskatoon inmates, following COVID spike in Saskatoon
Effective Thursday, all remanded and sentenced offenders in the province are being sent to the Regina and Prince Albert Correctional Centres, and there will be no new admissions to the Saskatoon Correctional Centre.
The decision by the provincial government is in direct response to a spike in COVID-19 cases at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre where 68 offenders and four staff members were infected.
Noel Busse, executive director of communications for the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, was asked during a media conference call Thursday about possible capacity challenges at either the men’s or women’s jails in Prince Albert.
“We’re confident that we’ll be able to manage the extra offender population in those facilities in the short term. In the long term we make look at using other correctional facilities to ensure we are able to effectively manage the population,” he said.