Critics decry Alberta's plan for youth recovery facility at Edmonton youth jail

Critics are slamming Alberta government's $23-million plan to renovate half of the Edmonton Young Offender Centre to treat youth with addictions.

Youth advocates suggested a separate facility is needed, saying housing offenders and youth with addictions at the same site criminalizes a health issue and puts youth at risk.

"It's still a jail. It's still filled with children and youth in there for sexual assault, for murder," said Mark Cherrington, youth advocate with the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights, an advocacy organization.

"What they're proposing is that your child, who might have a meth addiction or a fentanyl addiction, might be in the very same building as his or her drug trafficker." 

On Wednesday, the provincial government announced plans to renovate the underused jail to add 105 beds for youth by mid-2026. One quarter would be dedicated to treatment orders.

Dan Williams, Alberta's minister of mental health and addiction, said he isn't worried about the optics, noting that the government is caring for people with addictions in a healing, charitable and compassionate way.

Albertans understand the priority is to take action swiftly and thoughtfully in terms of dollars spent, he said.

Williams also assured the youth recovery centre would be separate from the corrections facility, with no shared living areas.

But Cherrington, who has frequently visited the jail for more than 30 years while working with thousands of youth, believes the kids will still connect, listing multiple potential contact points such as air vents, hand signals, the passing of notes and classroom settings.

"It's a treatment centre wrapped with barbed razor wire and corrections officers," Cherrington said.

Amy Lind, a youth criminal defence lawyer in Edmonton, supports spending millions of dollars on rehabilitation for youth, but echoes some of the concerns Cherrington raised about housing the two populations beside each other.

"My alarm bells go off with this notion both in terms of the cross relations and the treatment of these youths as essentially criminals," Lind told CBC News in an email, noting that this is how it seems "without further information on how they plan to make it different."

Lind also pointed to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which prohibits keeping people in custody because they are low-income, unhoused or dealing with addictions.

In contrast, she noted that a portion of the admissions would be non-voluntary through the Protection of Children Abusing Drugs Act.

Lerena Greig, executive director of Parents Empowering Parents Society, which supports families of children with addictions, said she understands people's concerns, but the additional beds are needed.

"I believe that they will put safety measures in place, that they can currently adapt to have a quicker turnaround, so that they can offer these beds sooner than later," Greig said.

"We know, as an organization and as a community, that prevention needs to come sooner than later."

The Office of the Child and Youth Advocate Alberta only learned about the treatment centre this week, when it was announced, spokesperson Stephanie Shantz said in an email.

The advocate is now reviewing the plan's specifics, Shantz said.