Articles & News

January 18, 2009

Canada's BC plans to open remand centre Prison called 'insane'

Brooke Larsen, Burnaby Now

A prison planned for Burnaby poses a serious risk to children at nearby schools and daycares, councillors said Monday.

Coun. Nick Volkow said it's "insane" that the provincial government wants to build a 700-inmate prison less than two kilometres from Cascade Heights Elementary and two daycares.

"This has got to be one of the most ridiculous proposals I've seen in all the years I've been sitting at this table," Volkow said at Monday's council meeting.

In August, the B.C government announced it would replace a former youth detention centre at 3405 Willingdon Ave. with a provincial remand centre.

The prison, designed to handle growing prison populations, is set to open in 2012.

The site is surrounded by office and research buildings - including Electronic Arts, Kodak and Pacific Blue Cross - and the BCIT campus, a staff report says.

Moscrop Secondary is 825 metres south of the site, while Cascade Heights Elementary, three churches, two child-care facilities and one recreation centre are within 1.2 kilometers.

Homes are also nearby, the report says.

Coun. Anne Kang, who lives close to the site, said she fears for others living nearby.

"I have young children, and I'm concerned about the safety of people in the neighbourhood," Kang said.

Mayor Derek Corrigan said many may not be aware of what's planned because they're not familiar with the term 'remand centre.'

"The very worst of criminals end up at remand centres," Corrigan said. "A remand centre means as soon as someone makes bail, they're released from the remand centre."

Corrigan urged residents to back those living in the neighborhood.

"I think this area needs to get the support of the city. This isn't something that will affect just one part of Burnaby," Corrigan said.

And while the facility has been billed as 'state-of-the-art,' it's unlikely to stay that way, making it easier for inmates to escape, he said.

"Eventually you're going to end up with a facility that's going to fall into disrepair."

Corrigan also sought to ward off accusations of NIMBYism, saying council has supported a 100-bed mental health and addiction centre elsewhere on the site.

The prison's proximity to Highway 1 makes matters even worse, Volkow said.

"If the staff discovers that some of the inmates are missing, it will be too late," Volkow said.

"One individual could not come up with such an insane proposal."

A staff report says the government chose the site without city input and that the remand centre is not close to a provincial courthouse.

There are now 27 buildings of various ages on the site. The large, southwest complex was developed in 1954 as a youth correctional facility and is now vacant.

The smaller northeast complex was recently renovated and is now occupied by the Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addictions.

The northwest complex was developed in 1970 and is now used by the Maple Adolescent Treatment Centre, which runs programs for troubled youth.

The Ministry of Children and Family Development and the Ministry of Labour and Citizens' Services have offices in a small building on the east of the site.
© Burnaby Now 2009