By Aaron Stuckel

Provincial budget builds more jail cells in Prince Albert

Mar 22, 2012 | 7:18 AM

Prince Albert will soon have the capacity to house up to 144 more prisoners at its provincial correctional centre.

The provincial government announced Wednesday afternoon that they would be spending $24 million over the next 3 years to expand the city’s jail. The facility will receive $3 million this year to get the construction started on 72 new cells.

“It’s to deal with some of our over-crowding issues,” said Minister of Corrections, Public Safety, and Policing, Yogi Huyghebaert. “It’s more realistic housing for inmates.”

Huyghebaert said that he’s not yet sure if the expansion will create new permanent jobs.

“We just have to play that as we go along,” he said. “It depends on how many more inmates we get. The more inmates we have, the more correction workers we’re going to need.”

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The budget also holds true to the continuation of a 30-cell expansion at the Pine Grove Correctional Centre which was announced last year. The $9.6 million remainder of the $12 million investment will be spent this year to get the project done by March, 2013.

Another $450,000 thousand was also designated to sustain and expand the Community Mobilization Partnership being piloted in Prince Albert, which was a Saskatchewan Party election promise.

The program has had many successes in reducing crime and social problems in the city since it began just over a year ago. It’s being piloted in the city, but has had interest from other communities from around the province and the country.

“(It’s) very good news for us here locally to carry on the good work… and certainly to assist other communities in the province to mobilize themselves in this fashion, as well,” said Ken Hunter, the programs executive director.

“There’s an awful lot of communities that wish to expand seeing the success of the HUB,” said Huyghebaert, speaking about the group of social workers, police, and health care workers who meet every week. “So it’s like a military structure. If you have three or four squadrons, you need a headquarters. So the money is put in the budget so we can actually have what’s called a COR.”

The Centre of Responsibility (COR) has already been in commission in Prince Albert since November. And Hunter is taking the renewed funding as a compliment.

“It’s a tremendous indication of support for what we’ve been able to accomplish here in P.A. from the province of Saskatchewan. We certainly are humbled by their support. They certainly have validated what we’re doing here,” said Hunter. “We’re on to something good.”

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