Manitoba Justice will be shuttering the Agassiz Youth Centre in Portage la Prairie on July 22, 2022, Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen announced today.
The provinces say that the closure is the result of declining number of youth being incarcerated over the past decade. The facility currently has less than 30 per cent of it being occupied.
“Like every province in Canada, the past decade has seen a very significant decline in youth incarceration, which has resulted in our youth facilities in both Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie operating at well under half capacity for the better part of a decade,” said Goertzen. “While still a very difficult decision, it is challenging to operate a facility at 25 per cent capacity at the same time there is overwhelming demand for facility support in many places in Manitoba.”
When the facility is closed all incarcerated youth in southern Manitoba will be housed at the Manitoba Youth Centre in Winnipeg. The MYC has been operating at below 50 per cent capacity for several years.
Currently in Manitoba there are less than 90 youth in custody.
© News4.ca 2022
