Okanagan jail in time

Daily Courier Staff  2010-12-08

The Okanagan will get a jail, says the B.C. government, but the location is up for grabs. Solicitor General Rich Coleman has confirmed the province is going ahead with plans to build a 360-cell jail in the Valley within five years. Government  officials are consulting with at least 10 municipalities and native groups.  Most Valley offenders serving less than two years and suspects awaiting trial are held in Kamloops jail, more than two hours‘ drive from Kelowna and three hours from Penticton. Sheriff buses shuttle them to and from courthouses in Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton. Too many inmates at  Kamloops jail and complaints it‘s too far from Okanagan cities have driven the government to push the project twice, only to back down. 

Building a standalone jail has ruffled feathers since the NDP government unveiled its plan in 1996 for a 200-bed remand centre on the 17-acre Hiram Walker site on Jim Bailey Road in north Kelowna. Government cutbacks eventually pushed the $20-million project off the priority list.  The B.C. Liberals tried to launch a minimum-security jail on the same site in January 2008, but then-Solicitor General John Les cancelled it when Lake Country Mayor James Baker and the Okanagan Indian Band complained no one consulted them.  Baker remains strongly opposed to a jail built on Kelowna land only three minutes‘ drive from downtown Winfield. Kelowna RCMP Supt. Bill McKinnon and Kelowna City Manager Ron Mattiussi support the project. McKinnon argues the jail should be located in the Central Okanagan because it has the largest population and a central location. Kelowna‘s RCMP lockup is being used as a jail and often overflowing with prisoners in the summer and on weekends, he said. Baker supports a new remand centre for people awaiting trial in the Okanagan but argues an Okanagan jail for convicted inmates is unnecessary. Kelowna could build a third storey on the RCMP detachment and convert it to an automated remand unit with secure elevators and corridors, and fewer staff, he said. 

The Village of Lumby is one of the few municipalities that wants it. Mayor Kevin Acton says a new jail would provide up to 300 jobs and help offset job losses from local mill closures.  The provincial government will consult with officials in Enderby, Spallumcheen, Armstrong, Vernon, Coldstream, Lumby, Lake Country, Kelowna, Peachland, Summerland, Penticton, the Valley‘s three regional districts and Okanagan Nation Alliance.  Taking the pressure off Kamloops jail reduces violence between guards and inmates, said Darryl Walker, president of the B.C. Government Employees Union. "Our union has made it clear to the government that the serious overcrowding issues in existing facilities has led to increased tension and violence against correctional officers," he said.