Andrew Parsons to press feds again for help with crumbling HMP

Newfoundland and Labrador's justice and public safety minister will meet his federal counterpart today, and like his predecessors, one thorny issue will be on the agenda: Her Majesty's Penitentiary.

The Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) Meeting of Ministers responsible for Justice and Public Safety is being held in St. John's, with a focus on "justice and public safety priorities for Canadians."

Perhaps, it couldn'tcome at a better time, as the federal government works on a bill that aims to eliminate the use of solitary confinement.

• Human rights commission wants more oversight of segregation in N.L. jails

Both the provincial and federal governments have felt pressure to end sending inmates to segregated units for prolonged periods of time.

Bill C-83 would see penitentiary units Structured Intervention Units (SIU)house inmates separately while still giving them access to rehabilitation, mental health care and otherprograms.

While the legislation wouldn't force the provincial government's hand, the elimination of solitary confinement is a high priority, according to provincial Justice and Public Safety Minister Andrew Parsons.

"I don't think they're ready to make any commitment but I also think they are ready to discuss," Parsons said Wednesday, when asked if he believes the federal government will help fund a new prison.

Given HMP'sage and condition, Parsons admits it may be impossible to eliminate segregation all together at the penitentiary in its current state.

• New policy for segregating inmates at N.L. prisons

"It's not about not having the desire or want," Parsons said, but rather the province needs funding to make it happen.

"The bill that [the federal government has]allows for an SIU, it's a different type of segregation or intervention unit, where we need to be able to separate individuals for various reasons but we need to have the confines and the ability to do it properly," he said.

"In order to do that, that's going to require funding. I think there is an obligation on the federal government to work with us. We're going to need funding."

HMP, a high-security institution for male inmates, is a provincial building. The province does not have its own federal prison.

'Solid rationale with a business plan'

Asked at a separate funding announcement Wednesday, federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale would not commit to helping with a new institution or providing funds to upgrade it.

Goodale did, however, acknowledge the prison's age and that it had outlived its useful life.

"We haven't arrived at any conclusions yet but if we can identify a good, solid rationale with a business plan that would meet both provincial and federal requirements, it's a proposition that I'm open to pursuing," Goodale said.

As for changes tosolitary confinement, Goodalesaid it is federal legislation and would affect federal institutions only.

Parsons, meanwhile, said his department is forging ahead with changes it can make within the confines of the 19th-century prison.

Disciplinarysegregation was altered last year to decrease the maximum days an inmate can spend in that type of segregation, from 15 down to 10. The department said it would also let inmates have visitation and greater access to programming.

The review of administrative segregation is still being review, Parsons said.

Asked if it's possible to fully eliminate segregation at HMP, Parsons said the answer is likely no.

"That's a difficult question, and one that's probably betteransweredby our administrator there, Mr. Don Roche and all the people who work there," Parsons said.

"I'd bet the answer would probably be no. The complete elimination is not possible. Would we like to? Of course. But we face a lot of challenges."

• Justice department hires consultant to examine possible HMP replacement

The province hired the firm EY over the summer toconduct a "value for money analysis" and comparetraditional procurement options versus a public-private partnership.

And Parsons said the department is taking steps to prevent some people from going to jail in the first place and clogging up an already straining system. Electronic monitoring, bail supervision and adult division, Parsons said, are initiatives that would do just that.

Federal, provincial and territorial ministers are meeting Thursday and Friday at the Sheraton Hotel in St. John's.

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