Ottawa’s decision to allocate $1.3 billion for the construction of a new hospital for inmates in New Brunswick has been criticized by Correctional Investigator of Canada Ivan Zinger as a significant misallocation of resources. Zinger, the ombudsman for federal correctional system inmates, suggests that the government should consider partnering with provincial facilities for acute mental health services instead.
Zinger emphasized that Correctional Service Canada could have supported increased bed capacity by collaborating with provinces, a more humane, cost-effective, and sustainable approach in the long term. He expressed concern about the planned location of the new facility next to the Dorchester Penitentiary, advocating for mental health care for inmates to be provided outside the prison setting.
Stressing the patient-centric approach, Zinger highlighted that individuals with serious mental illnesses should be viewed as patients first, not simply as inmates. He criticized the system’s failure to provide specialized psychiatric care internally, contrasting it with the practice of transferring individuals requiring complex physical care to external hospitals.
While Zinger was not available for immediate comment, his report urges the federal government to review its current strategy. Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree stated that he will collaborate with the Office of the Correctional Investigator to address the report’s findings. However, the government has rejected Zinger’s recommendation to halt the construction of the new facility.
Recent reports reveal that the project’s cost has escalated to $1.3 billion from the initial $400 million proposed in 2021. The new facility will replace the Shepody Healing Centre within the Dorchester Penitentiary, which has been likened to a “dungeon” by a psychiatrist working there. Situated in the riding of Beauséjour, represented by cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc, the center’s budget increase was confirmed last year.
Zinger suggested that individuals with severe mental illnesses should be transferred to community-based psychiatric hospitals for specialized care. Despite the budget rise, the former director of the Shepody Centre, Luc Doucet, defended the necessity of establishing a new center outside the penitentiary walls, emphasizing the responsibility to provide appropriate treatment for inmates to ensure their safe reintegration into society.