Ontario investing over $21 million to advance Kemptville prison project

The Ontario government is investing $21.8 million into an expansion of the wastewater treatment plant in North Grenville.

Solicitor General Michael Kerzner made the announcement in Kemptville Thursday, saying the money will help in the development in a new correctional facility that is planned to be built in the community south of Ottawa.

“In order to support the construction of the Eastern Ontario Correctional Complex, the Ontario government will invest an additional $21.8 million to expand the water pollution control plant right here in Kemptville.”

"The expansion of the wastewater treatment plant is an essential step of our plan to get this jail built."

The proposed jail is planned to be built on provincially owned land located across from the Kemptville Campus site in the municipality’s south end.

The province says the prison would require daily water flow of 250 cubic metres.

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North Grenville Mayor Nancy Peckford said that the municipality told the province that if it needed the extra water flow to make the prison function, it would have to pay for it.

“We were adamant that they needed to pay their way. If they were going to tap into our infrastructure, that they needed to ensure that they were proportionally sharing in the cost,” said Peckford.

The proposal for a new prison in the region is one that has divided residents for years now.

Kemptville resident Victor Lachance is a member of the Coalition Against the Proposed Prison and says locating the correctional facility in the town is unnecessary.

"No one asked for it, and the harm that it's going to do to the prime agricultural land and the buildings, this is just a bad idea,” Lachance told CTV News.

"The municipality definitely faces a very large burden right now in upgrading its infrastructure for wastewater treatment. The province is simply adding to that burden by building a prison here."

The proposal would see a facility built that would house 235 inmates.

Peckford says as of information provided to her two years ago, the prison would be co-ed, house offenders of mixed security levels, with an average stay length of 30 days.

But there are also residents in the area excited to see the prison built, with the promise of more jobs and local work incoming.

“These efforts will be supported by hiring more than 200 additional correctional staff, including correctional officers, nurses and support staff,” said Kerzner.

Peckford says having to balance the needs of a growing population and what the residents of her municipality want has been challenging.

"I recognize that not everybody is extremely favourable to a correctional facility. Some are, in fact, opposed. We're abundantly aware of that," Peckford said. "But the reality is that my job as mayor in this community is to ensure that from a fiscal perspective and a quality of life perspective, that we are doing everything in our power to ensure the fiscal health of our municipality and to make strategic investments in quality of life."

The upgrades to Kemptville’s wastewater treatment facility are already underway.

But with no timeline for construction to begin on the prison, Lachance is holding out hope and says the coalition will continue to oppose the project.

"No, it's not a done deal. They're still not clear on timelines and the process."