McGuinty Government To Build New Youth Justice Facilities In Thunder Bay And Fort Frances
Last Step In Plan To Create Dedicated Youth Justice System
THUNDER BAY, ON, June 8 – The Ontario government is completing its plans to establish a dedicated youth justice system by building new youth justice facilities in Thunder Bay and Fort Frances, Michael Gravelle, MPP for Thunder Bay – Superior North and Bill Mauro, MPP for Thunder Bay – Atikokan announced today on behalf of Minister of Children and Youth Services Mary Anne Chambers. The Thunder Bay and Kenora/Rainy River District centres are two of the few remaining centres in Ontario with youth units within adult facilities. This initiative will allow youth to move from the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre to a 16-bed facility dedicated to youth located in Thunder Bay. In the Kenora/Rainy River District, youth will be transferred to a 12-bed facility in Fort Frances dedicated to Aboriginal youth and operated by an Aboriginal organization. This will allow the ministry to close the youth unit located in the Kenora Jail.
“These new dedicated facilities for youth will continue to ensure accountability from youth in conflict with the law, at the same time recognizing the different needs they have than those of adults,” said Mauro. “This is a progressive step forward by our government and addresses a long standing need in the youth justice sector in Thunder Bay.”
The government has allocated a total of $28.4 million to support the construction of the new youth justice facilities in Thunder Bay and Fort Frances and a 16-bed expansion of the William E. Hay Centre in Ottawa that will allow youth to move from the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre. These projects will create approximately 480 construction jobs. The facility in Thunder Bay, to be ministry operated, is expected to create up to 30 full time equivalent jobs.
“Youth in conflict with the law need to be held accountable for their actions, but they have very different needs than adult offenders,” said Gravelle. “These innovative new small-scale facilities address the unique needs of troubled youth, and also help keep them closer to their homes, their families, their community and local service agencies. They will also help our young people get their lives back on track and discourage them from re-offending.”
“Our government is committed to providing an opportunity for troubled youth to turn their lives around and become productive members of society,” said Chambers. “If young people are provided with the right supports and intervention, there is opportunity for rehabilitation and a reduction in recidivism. We believe that if we don’t make this commitment now, our communities will pay the price later on.”
The Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC), the government agency that manages the government’s properties, will oversee design and construction of the facilities by engaging industry professionals through an open and competitive process. This will ensure the facilities meet all of the ministry’s requirements and offer the best value for the people of Ontario.
The new facilities are expected to be operational by April 2009.
<>
The McGuinty government is committed to building strong, safe and vital communities in Ontario by holding youth in conflict with the law responsible for their actions, while providing them with meaningful rehabilitation so they can become responsible, productive members of society.
To support this, Ontario is creating a dedicated, fully-integrated youth justice system for youth aged 12-17, separate and apart from the adult system. This includes removing youth from youth units in adult facilities. The new system provides a broad range of evidence-based community and custodial programs and services to meet the needs of youth, their families and communities.
The government has closed the following youth units so far:
<>
For further information: Tricia Edgar, Minister’s Office, (416) 212-7161, (416) 571-7247 (Cell); Anne Machowski-Smith, Ministry of Children and Youth Services, (416) 325-5156
This article comes from NationTalk:
https://nationtalk.ca
The permalink for this story is:
https://nationtalk.ca/story/mcguinty-government-to-build-new-youth-justice-facilities-in-thunder-bay-and-fort-frances
Comments are closed.