The estimated budget for constructing a new hospital to cater to inmates in federal facilities has surged to $1.3 billion, surpassing the initial $400 million projection disclosed in 2021, as per federal documents and sources. The approval for funding the project in New Brunswick was granted by the Treasury Board in December 2024. However, the increased budget has not been publicly disclosed as Ottawa is currently engaged in a bidding process with construction companies.
Insiders familiar with the situation have revealed that the project successfully navigated Ottawa’s expenditure review leading up to the federal budget on Nov. 4, despite mounting pressure to curtail spending at Correctional Service Canada.
The upcoming 155-bed facility is set to provide mental and physical healthcare services in both French and English to male and female inmates within the federal correctional system. It will be housed in a new structure, replacing the outdated facility within Dorchester Penitentiary, which currently operates at one-third capacity.
The hospital will be situated in the Beauséjour riding, represented by Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister overseeing Canada-U.S. trade. Last year, LeBlanc hinted that the budget for the hospital would exceed the initial projections, without specifying an exact figure. Drawing a comparison, he likened the scale of the project to the Confederation Bridge connecting New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, inaugurated in 1997.
The anticipated $1.3 billion budget for the new hospital represents a 30% increase over the $1 billion contract for the Confederation Bridge, according to reliable federal sources and documents. Radio-Canada has granted anonymity to federal sources privy to the matter but not authorized to speak publicly.
Correctional Service Canada aims to finalize the project by 2032. In a briefing note released under the Access to Information Act, it was revealed that during LeBlanc’s tenure as minister of public safety in 2023, he was informed of the escalating budget for the project. Despite the cost escalation, LeBlanc advocated for maintaining the project’s full scope.
The proposed hospital, as outlined in federal documents, is designed to cater to the physical, clinical, and mental health requirements of federal offenders nationwide. Positioned in southeastern New Brunswick on the premises of the Dorchester Penitentiary, the new facility will replace the existing 53-bed Shepody Healing Centre.
Dr. Louis Thériault, a psychiatrist at the recovery center, has long highlighted concerns about the inadequate safety measures for both inmates and staff in the current facilities at Dorchester Penitentiary, which has been operational since 1880. Dr. Thériault emphasized the dire conditions, citing cramped spaces, deficient windows, and dungeon-like isolation cells, labeling them as the worst among correctional service treatment centers nationwide.