By Arun Budhathoki, NB Media Co-op

November 3, 2022

FREDERICTON / UNCEDED WOLASTOQIYIK TERRITORY –

The New Brunswick government is facing criticisms over its decision to build a new $32 million prison in the Fredericton region. Two experts say that the new prison will not help the province bring down crime.

“New Brunswick does not need a new jail. What most residents in New Brunswick would benefit from is redirecting that $32 million into solving the housing crisis,” said Ardath Whynacht, Associate Professor and Director of the Health Studies Program at Mount Allison University, in an interview with the NB Media Co-op.

Whynacht said that the government’s decision to build a new prison when New Brunswickers are suffering lacks coherence and is a misplaced priority.

“A lot of new Brunswickers are suffering. The cost of food has gone up incredibly in the last year. Folks are suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to really reduce the number of folks who end up in jail, what we need to do is prevent a lot of the conditions that lead them towards crime in the first place. We’ll see a much better investment in the health and safety of folks in New Brunswick, if we stop looking to incarceration as the only way to deal with social problems,” she said.

After the Throne Speech that spoke of high crime rates, the Telegraph-Journal’s Andrew Waugh got Justice and Public Safety Minister Kris Austin to admit that the crime claims are based on anecdotes.

Whynacht says the New Brunswick government “doesn’t appear to understand the difference between data and anecdotes.”

“I find that extremely concerning considering that they’re spending millions and millions of dollars worth of public money on policies that are not informed by accurate data,” she said.

Arun Budhathoki is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op. This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Stations and Users (CACTUS).