AUPE members pleased by today’s announcement of new Remand Centre
EDMONTON – Members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees were pleased to learn today that the Government of Alberta will proceed with plans to build a new Edmonton Remand Centre to replace the current overcrowded and dangerous facility.
“A new Remand Centre is badly needed and it was important for AUPE members and others who work in the facility to be reassured that plans to build one are moving ahead,” AUPE President Doug Knight said today.
The future of the project had been cast into some doubt last month when members of the government caucus publicly disagreed about the need for a new, larger remand facility, Knight explained.
Today’s announcement that the new facility will be built in Edmonton’s north end next to the Edmonton Young Offender Centre at 127 Street and 186 Avenue comes as a relief to Correctional workers who were worried about their safety in the crowded, aging downtown Remand Centre, Knight said. He noted that the current facility was built to house 340 inmates, but now often holds more than 750.
“We do not want to see one of our members injured or maimed because of the inadequacies of the existing facility,” he explained. “I would hope that the architects would consult with staff on some of the previous design problems and occupational health and safety issues in the existing facility.
“The government now needs to act quickly and without delay to complete construction of this needed facility,” Knight said. “The Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre was not built to hold remand inmates and the Red Deer Remand Centre is crowded enough without being an overflow facility for Edmonton.”
“Today’s announcement will go a long way to help the government achieve the premier’s stated goal of improving public confidence in the justice system,” Knight concluded.
For more information, contact:
Doug Knight, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-265-6655 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)