Manitoba Progressive Conservative Justice Critic, Kelvin Goertzen and Wayne Ewasko, MLA for the constituency of Lac du Bonnet.
Manitoba Progressive Conservative Justice Critic, Kelvin Goertzen and Wayne Ewasko, the new MLA for the constituency of Lac du Bonnet, spent Monday afternoon visiting with staff and touring the expanding Milner Ridge Correctional Centre.
“Milner Ridge has changed a great deal in the past decade. It has gone from a low security facility, without even a fence, to a medium security facility with some high-security features,” said Goertzen. “Where it once was primarily for those who had committed crimes on the lower end of the spectrum, it now has many higher risk gang members and dangerous offenders.”
There are currently more than 400 offenders, both sentenced and awaiting trial, at Milner Ridge. In addition to a new medium security portion opened two years ago, construction is currently underway on an additional 160 bed unit which is expected to be open later this year.
“The environment has changed significantly for staff over the past decade at Milner. The type of offender they now deal with is much different than a decade ago. That is true across the corrections system in Manitoba because offenders are more violent and have more gang ties than in years past,” said Goertzen.
Goertzen noted that the increased size of the facility has also meant a change in the staffing environment.
“A much greater portion of the staff are from the local Milner Ridge area and from areas of the southeast including Steinbach than was the case a decade ago when most staff came from Winnipeg,” said Goertzen.
Even with the expansion at Milner Ridge, the overall corrections system in Manitoba is plagued by overcrowding as Manitoba’s violent crime rate continues to increase.
