Jail development as reconciliation? Documenting a new politics of carceral expansion in Manitoba

• In Event: Abandonment, Criminalization, Development: Geographies of Carceral Expansion in Three Countries

Abstract

This paper presents initial findings from new research into the development of a “Centre for Justice” in rural Canada. It documents how carceral expansion is being made to fit within Canada’s commitments to Truth and Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, even as Indigenous people continue to be the primary targets of jailing. The jail in Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada was decommissioned in 2020, and the promise to reopen it was a campaign pillar of the opposition party. Their promise answered calls from the government employees union (which represents correctional officers) to bring good jobs back to rural areas. It also responded to concerns that a new jail will harm Indigenous communities. When the opposition party was elected, it announced that the future jail would be a “Centre for Justice” developed in partnership with First Nations authorities. First Nations have been framed as beneficiaries of 1) new opportunities to participate in regional economic development, and 2) a more restorative approach to justice informed by Indigenous justice principles. Using government announcements and community consultations, this paper tracks attempts to reconcile the idea of jails as sites of good work with the recognition that the work they do in Manitoba is primarily locking up Indigenous people.

Author

• Bronwyn Dobchuk-Land, University of Winnipeg