New figures show Alberta has the lowest per capita spending on inmates in Canada

New data shows Alberta spends the least amount of money per inmate in Canada – a figure the province says is worth its salt but critics say is short-sighted and worrisome.

Figures released by Statistics Canada earlier this month show Alberta spends $193 per day per inmate.

Saskatchewan spends $199.

Almost every other province and territory puts in over $300.

The numbers take into account costs such as salaries for guards and necessities for inmates. They only apply to correctional facilities, pre-trial detention centers, people in custody and people serving prison sentences of less than two years.

The numbers are for 2022-23, and Statistics Canada says in its online report that conclusions “should be made with caution” because some provinces may calculate their total spending differently.

But former prison warden Howard Sapers says the gap between Alberta and other provinces is too great to be dismissed simply as accounting and infrastructure.

Sapers said this suggests Alberta is spending too little on corrections staff, as well as programs and support for inmates after their release.

“This is important not only for those who are concerned about what is going on behind prison walls, but also for those who are concerned about public safety,” said Sapers, who served as Correctional Investigator of Canada from 2004 to 2016 was, in an interview.

“There is a connection between what you invest and what you get from it.”

Justin Piche, a University of Ottawa professor who studies incarceration, said he believes Alberta’s comparatively low spending is also due to the Edmonton Remand Center – Canada’s largest prison – relying on surveillance cameras to reduce staffing costs to lower.

“The way they did it makes it cheaper to operate than other models that exist around the country,” Piche said.

That’s not necessarily a good thing, he said.

“A facility that lacks more human interaction will be more inhumane than others,” Piche said. “People need human contact, and there are fewer opportunities for that in these massive facilities.”

Since the Edmonton Remand Center opened in 2013, several investigations into inmate deaths have led judges to call for more staff and in-person contact.

An inquest into Jonathan Anderson’s 2020 suicide led Judge Marilena Carminati to say in a report last week that “similar deaths are likely to occur unless additional mental health staff are recruited.”

According to the report, in 2022, 16 mental health professionals were employed at the detention center, which can accommodate 1,500 inmates.

During the investigation, an employee testified that the detention center’s psychiatric unit had been understaffed for years.

Another investigation into an inmate suicide led Judge Joyce Lester in 2022 to recommend that the men’s psychiatric unit be staffed with additional officers at all times.

The center’s attorneys rejected that proposal in a response letter, saying additional staffing was not necessary and that “there can be no guarantee that the unit will be staffed by at least two officers at all times during the day and afternoon shifts.”

Arthur Green, spokesman for Alberta Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis, declined to answer an emailed question about why Alberta has the lowest daily costs.

In a statement, Green said the province is committed to the health and safety of people in correctional and detention centers, but “at the same time, we are responsible and accountable to taxpayers.”

Green pointed to four correctional facilities opening therapeutic housing units in 2023.

“These units provide addiction treatment programs for addicted inmates and support them in their pursuit of recovery,” he said.

“The intensive programming supports their mental health and ensures they can continue to serve their sentence with a coordinated network of personalized, community-based services.”

Green said the work is constantly evolving to rehabilitate inmates while keeping the public safe.

Piche and Chris Hay, president of the John Howard Society of Alberta, believe the Alberta government should consider investing in crime prevention programs as well as programs that help offenders get back on their feet after their release.

Hay noted that the Alberta government has begun investing in reintegration support, albeit slowly.

His organization recently received $500,000 from the province to run a program at the Lethbridge Correctional Center in southern Alberta.

The program, similar to one in Ontario, requires each inmate to work with a case manager before their release, while also connecting those inmates with nonprofit organizations to access support and resources after their release.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” Hay said. “We’re starting slowly, but the Alberta government is on board with this.”

Hay said programs like what his organization is currently testing are key to reducing recidivism, meaning the likelihood that a former inmate will continue to commit crimes after their release.

He said recidivism cannot be separated from the justice system: the more effort put into punishment, the higher the likelihood that inmates will reoffend.

Alberta is not prioritizing rehabilitation, he said.

“(It) places a higher priority on enforcement and punishment.”