NS: County suffers economic blow with loss of jail

[AMHERST, NS] — Not surprised, but extremely disappointed is the best way to describe the mood in Cumberland County Tuesday after Justice Minister Ross Landry announced that a new jail for northern Nova Scotia will be built elsewhere.

“We went down and met with him a few weeks ago and strongly put forward Amherst’s case, but his feedback was clearly that it was a economic issue and what they could afford and make the most use of the dollars they had,” said Amherst Mayor Rob Small.

Landry announced Tuesday the province will build a $31.3-million, 100-cell correctional centre that will serve Cumberland, Colchester, Pictou, Antigonish, Guysborough and Richmond counties.

As much as he is disappointed that the new correctional centre will not be built in Amherst, the mayor is also disappointed it won’t be built in Springhill either.

“If it wasn’t going to be built in Amherst it would have been nice for Springhill. Now it’s not going to built in either Amherst or Springhill,” the mayor said.

Nova Scotia Justice Minister Ross Landry announced yesterday that one facility will be built to replace the aging correctional centers in both Amherst and Antigonish - a facility that won't be built in Cumberland County. Photo by Darrell Cole - Amherst Daily News

Amherst did not receive much in terms of direct economic benefits from the jail’s location, but there were many indirect benefits in that many of the workers at the existing Cumberland Correctional Centre live in the Amherst area and spend their money at local shops.

Small said the town plans to work with the province to look for ways to increase support for the justice centre that includes the provincial, supreme and family courts and administration.

Cumberland North MLA Brian Skabar said economics just didn’t make the case for two new jails — one in Amherst and another in Antigonish — realistic.

“If it had been two new jails, I was pretty confident of Amherst’s chances, but when it became one I sort of knew then our chances weren’t good,” Skabar said. “I don’t like it but I can understand the least amount of travel for the most people would likely keep it in the middle of the province in the higher catchment area.”

Skabar is hoping to work with Landry to make arrangements for those being held on remand to keep them close to the justice infrastructure in Amherst. That could include a new remand centre in conjunction with the RCMP and town police.

Cumberland South MLA Murray Scott, who started the ball rolling toward a new correctional centre when he was justice minister several years ago, is angry with the decision and feels it could have been avoided if Cumberland’s municipal units had put up a united front.

“I’m very upset and we all should be very upset because we’re losing this service out of Cumberland,” Scott said. “If we had banded together from the day one this would not have happened. The concern about driving 15 or 20 minutes in Cumberland is now a concern about driving an hour and a half, and mark my words there’s no doubt this facility is going to Pictou County.”

Scott, who in the spring announced the new jail would be built in Springhill, is calling on all municipal leaders in the county to come together and tell Premier Darrell Dexter they are not going to stand for this.

Springhill’s mayor, Allen Dill, feels the new NDP government has broken a key election promise to the area.

“While I believe Springhill has the best business case for the facility to be located in the town, it would appear that the criteria listed in the minister’s press release not only eliminates Springhill, but also Cumberland County from the site selection process,” Dill said. “This is very disheartening and discouraging for the area.”

Dill said during the election campaign Premier Darrell Dexter said his party’s mandate would be to revitalize and assist ailing rural economies and he promised to honour commitments made by the previous Conservative government of Rodney MacDonald.

“It appears now as that’s not going to happen,” Dill said. “To date, no significant announcements have been made affecting any of the areas on this side of the Cobequid Pass.”

The previous Conservative government announced in the spring plans to build an $18-million correctional centre on land near the federal prison. That decision was placed on hold following the June election while the minister conducted a review. It was that review that led to Tuesday’s decision to build one jail, not two.

Dill said he recently requested a meeting with Premier Dexter on the jail and was denied. Now that the decision has been made, he plans to meet with council, CAO Don Tabor and the town’s legal council before deciding its next step.

“I’ve been approached by a number of citizens about legal action. If the town had entered into an agreement and walked away it would be sued by the private sector,” Dill said, adding council will be discussing its options in the coming days.