Halfway house up to city

By RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff May 30 2007 http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/

Corrections Canada officials insist the future of a halfway house for parolees is in the hands of Vernonites. The federal agency made a presentation to council Monday, and district director Brian Lang is adamant that a 14-bed facility will not go ahead if the city opposes the move. “We would not consider imposing a halfway house in Vernon,” he told the media. “There are no guarantees. We are a long ways from having a facility here.” It had been anticipated Corrections Canada would announce the successful operator of a halfway house Monday. But that was delayed after the city asked Corrections Canada May 14 that it cease and desist with a corrections facility until further discussion could be held.

Lang told council Monday that a non-profit agency has been selected to run a facility but that group won’t be identified at this time. “There are some issues to work on before we can name the agency we’re going to work with,” he said. There has been considerable apprehension within the community about a new correctional facility opening. Vernon’s former halfway house closed after the murder of 75-year-old Bill Abramenko in 2004. Eric Fish, who has been charged with the death, was missing from that facility at the time of the incident. Council is demanding to see a Corrections Canada report into the Abramenko case before it makes a decision on a halfway house. Lang says his department is investigating what can be released without compromising Fish’s trial.

Lang also suggested that parts of the report may be censored for privacy reasons and that didn’t go over well with Coun. Pat Cochrane. “What we will see will be useless to us and the community and they (Corrections Canada) will go ahead any way,” he said. Beyond Corrections Canada, city council is now demanding seeing internal investigation reports from the RCMP and the Parole Board of Canada. “They are partners in this function,” said Coun. Juliette Cunningham. If a halfway house proceeds, Lang expects it could take two years before it is fully operational because of identifying a site, public consultation and phasing in parolees. A panel, including local representation, would determine who lives at a halfway house. There are currently 42 parolees in the community and 18 are considered to be from Vernon. “There are people living in neighbourhoods without the 24-hour supervision available at a halfway house,” said Lang.

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Don Quixote Note: Strangely, although it was this reporter who asked the question of Mr Lang about the eligibility of the 42 parolees in a new halfway house, he neglected to mention it in this article. The question I refer to was answered as published in the Courier on Monday :Corrections vows to work with city

Lang confirmed that there are 42 parolees already in Vernon, but none of them would be eligible for the halfway house, meaning that residents of the house would be new to Vernon.