Vancouver Island will see its first-ever women’s correctional unit on the island as the new Nanaimo Correctional Centre opens this week.
Along with the new unit, the $181 million project will see an increase in capacity from 190 rooms to 200. CHLY attended the press conference for the opening May 22.
Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said at the conference that the new facility is designed to support those in custody to gain new skills and start to imagine a new way of life when released.
MLA for Nanaimo and Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction Sheila Malcolmson also spoke at the conference. She mentioned the benefits of the new women’s unit and how it will support families instead of splitting them apart.
She also says she is grateful for the Guthrie Therapeutic Community and the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program that both give residents opportunities to learn and access addiction treatment program.
