Not in MY backyard

With the existing remand centre holding 750 people when it was designed to hold up to 338, Edmonton is definitely in need of a new facility. Prisoners convicted of crimes routinely get double or triple credit for time served awaiting trial at the downtown centre, guards complain about working conditions and prisoners call the facility inhumane.

Issues such as this one are always NIMBY issues. Thomas Lukaszuk is the prime example of this. He was talking up the issue so much with the previous government, then the site decision was made and he found out it's going in his constituency. Now, all he can do is complain.

The province consulted many people to find what the ideal remand centre would look like, and then looked at the four possible locations and determined the site on the north side to be the most desirable. Plus, the province already owns the land that the centre is to be built on, so it's saving money that way. And, it's much further from residential areas say, than downtown. A lot of people don't even know where the centre downtown is. Because it looks like a high school.

Personally, I quite like this guy...

...Andy Bordush who operates a small furniture manufacturing shop across the road had no worries about the remand centre plans.

"In society, we have to have these things unfortunately," he said. "It will just be a big building. If it was a dump or sewage plant, I would be concerned."