Renovations at dilapidated Gatineau jail badly needed, say advocates | CBC News

The Hull jail in Gatineau, Que., is on track to receive much-needed repairs after the province announced Tuesday that it would study how the dilapidated facility can be brought up to acceptable standards. 

The study will help determine what needs to be done, but the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) told Radio-Canada the renovations will “definitely cost more than $50 million.” 

It’s a move that inmate advocates, criminologists, and the union representing jail employees welcome. 

Mathieu Lavoie, the head of the union that represents provincial correctional workers, said the jail is among the three most run-down facilities in Quebec. 

Lavoie said many cells in the oldest part of the jail have bars, despite doors now being the industry standard. 

“The barred doors allow incarcerated people to throw objects at the officers,” he said in French, adding that the layout doesn’t allow correctional workers to maintain complete visibility.

Poor ventilation, water infiltration, and broken windows are further evidence of the unsafe and unsuitable environment, he said. 

Some inmates have been able to remove windows altogether in order to have contraband delivered by drones. 

Poor conditions not new 

The issues are far from new. 

“Several parts of the old section have reached the end of their useful life,” SQI wrote in a statement to Radio-Canada. 

The government department’s statement went on to explain that the jail has not been significantly renovated since the early 1990s, although there has been regular maintenance to ensure safety.

Lynda Khelil, a spokesperson for the Quebec Civil Liberties Union, said the problem is hardly a “new phenomenon,” arguing that conditions are undeniably “inhumane.” 

She said infrastructure issues are indicative of broader problems. 

“This has consequences on the psychological health of the people who are kept there,” she said in French. 

Investing in concrete instead of putting funds into addressing why the correctional system has become a “revolving door” is short-sighted, she said. 

Criminologist Jean-Claude Bernheim was unsurprised to hear descriptions of the Hull jail’s poor condition, and agreed there needs to be funding that focuses on how to keep people out of the correctional system. 

“The solutions that are always proposed are either to invest in the police, or to invest in the courts, or to invest in prisons, but never to invest in social issues,” he said in French. 

The renovations will focus on providing a healthier and safer environment for staff and inmates, according to the wording accompanying this week’s provincial budget update.

When renovations are eventually undertaken, the affected areas of the jail will need to be emptied of inmates, Lavoie explained. He said this could exacerbate the correctional system’s ongoing overcrowding issues.