At tonight’s Peace River Town Council Meeting, a debrief on the Alberta Municipalities Conference will be presented.
It includes an update on the issue of the Peace River Correctional Centre releasing inmates into downtown Peace River.
Below is the Letter from the town that’s part of the updated Minister’s Brief.
(Courtesy of the Town of Peace River)
This past winter, persons unfamiliar to the community, living in homelessness in downtown
Peace River, and accessing limited shelter and soup kitchen support increased at a
noticeable rate — as did social disorder including public nuisance, trespassing, loitering,
vandalism, and intimidation of downtown business operators, staff, and patrons.
As the number of complaints received from downtown business owners increased, and the
level of concerns expressed heightened, Town of Peace River Administration was prompted
to seek out root causes so that the Town could begin addressing the issue.
It was quickly identified that the release protocols for remand prisoners that had been
followed during the COVID-19 pandemic had ended in October 2022. Inmates from all over
Alberta who were remanded and held in custody at the Peace River Correctional Centre
(PRCC), and who at the time of release were without personal transportation, were since
being transported to downtown Peace River. There, they were being released into
homelessness.
Without financial resources, or readily available public transportation between rural
communities or larger centres, these released inmates have no means of returning to their
home communities located elsewhere in Alberta, where they could find support from family
and friends.
Over the span of 57 days — between February 10, 2023 and April 8, 2023 — the PRCC
released 47 inmates into homelessness in our downtown core. This rate of release into the
downtown area of our community equates to more than 300 inmates over the span of one
year — equivalent to 4.55% of the Town of Peace River’s current population.
To put this into perspective, based on the rate of release to total population, 301 inmates
being released into homelessness in downtown Peace River would be comparable to
releasing 59,426 remand inmates into homelessness in downtown Calgary over the
course of one year. This release rate is not sustainable.
Resources necessary to support these individuals, many of whom are also experiencing
mental health and addictions issues, are simply not available — nor is inter-community
transportation to larger centres, where services and supports can be accessed.
Since first bringing this startling discovery forward in April 2023 to then Minister of Municipal
Affairs, Rebecca Schulz, and our local MLA and current Minister of Mental Health and
Addictions Dan Williams, two stabbing incidents have occurred downtown, with one resulting
in loss of life. It cannot be stated conclusively that there is a relationship between these
incidents and PRCC release protocols; however, the seriousness of these incidents is
unprecedented in Peace River. In one case, the accused was found to have had several
outstanding warrants to their name.
There are many negative impacts associated with current release protocols that are now
happening simultaneously. The viability of downtown businesses has been diminished, with
business owners, staff, patrons, and visitors in fear of spending time downtown due to social
disorder and crime. Use of our trail system throughout downtown Peace River, along the
riverfront, has decreased dramatically due to a feeling of reduced safety.
Additionally, the valued working relationship between Town Administration and the PRCC has
been hindered. It takes partnerships such as this to collaborate in resolving issues, and we
will continue to strongly encourage development of this relationship — though it remains
difficult under current circumstances.
Having no new release statistics available without making a FOIP request, one can only
assume that things have remained status quo since April 2023. Routinely, it seems,
announcements in the news include funding for strategies to address safety concerns in
downtown Edmonton or Calgary, and to support their residents who are homeless, and/or
facing mental health and addictions issues.
Most recently, Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis announced additional changes to those
previously announced supports, including money to support the addition of 50 new police
officers in both Edmonton and Calgary, as well as $5 million for each city to increase transit
safety.
Minister Ellis also stated that residents’ immediate needs cannot be ignored, and that, “You
have the right to walk down the street without being violently attacked.” This fundamental
right for personal safety is not exclusive to citizens residing in Calgary and Edmonton; it
is owed to all Albertans. Safe streets and the ability to walk alone at night without fear were
once considered germane to living in rural Alberta. Sadly, this is no longer the situation for
residents of the Town of Peace River.
As the only Provincial corrections facility releasing remanded inmates (at times, highly
dangerous inmates) who have no personal means of transportation at the time of release,
into homelessness in a rural and northern Alberta community like Peace River, our
situation is unique, incomparable to others, and warrants a location-based approach to
resolve. Standard provincial corrections remand inmate release protocols do not work in
Peace River.
Town of Peace River Council requests recognition of this undue hardship being placed on its
downtown business owners and residents, as a result of current PRCC release practices of
those held in remand, and that special attention be given to address the uniqueness of the
situation, and to resume transporting all inmates without transportation — including those
released from remand — back to their home location, or to the nearest large centre where
wraparound services are available.
Thank you,
Elaine Manzer
Mayor
Barbara Miller, CGA, CPA, CLGM
Chief Administrative Officer
