What the provincial government described as a new project to help strengthen public safety, expand access to therapeutic supports and help meet Manitoba’s evolving correctional needs is soon to be under construction in Dauphin.
Premier Wab Kinew and Justice Minister Matt Wiebe were part of a groundbreaking ceremony for the Dauphin Centre for Justice. The centre will be located in the Dauphin Business Park.
“Today is an exciting day as we break ground on the new Dauphin Centre for Justice, a commitment that will make our province safer, help people turn their lives around and bring good-paying jobs back to the Parkland region,” said Kinew. “This facility represents a new approach to corrections in Manitoba, one that focuses on rehabilitation, accountability and giving people the supports they need to build a better future.”
In a release, the province said the centre would integrate secure custody, therapeutic supports, rehabilitation programming and culturally responsive services. Correctional centres are used to house adult inmates who are remanded into custody or sentenced to less than two years less a day, as well as youth who are remanded or sentenced.
“The Dauphin Centre for Justice will be a first of its kind in Manitoba, offering a comprehensive correctional environment that supports longer-term rehabilitation needs through a full range of therapeutic, cultural, educational and correctional programming while keeping the community safe,” said Wiebe. “The centre will incorporate measures to reduce recidivism rates, address systemic issues, decrease the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system and provide a continuum of care to inmates to ensure long-lasting, meaningful change.”
According to the release, one of the goals of the centre is to ease capacity pressures across Manitoba’s provincial correctional centres. They also said it will account for about 80 local jobs once it’s up and running.
The centre will contain 100 beds once it’s operational, including 25 dedicated therapeutic-community beds offering structured living, culturally grounded supports, recreation and wellness spaces and intensive release planning designed to support behavioural change and successful reintegration.
The province has committed $142 million toward the first phase of the project, the remand and custody centre. Construction is to start before the end of this fall, with full construction work beginning next summer.
