The province has selected Bird Construction Inc. to complete infrastructure upgrade projects at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre and the Kenora Jail.
In a March 4 news release, the province said the Mississauga-headquartered Bird was chosen to design and build the structures following an open, two-stage competitive and accelerated bid process.
Bird was previously contracted to build the Thunder Bay Courthouse, a seven-storey, 24,600-square-foot building that consolidated the region’s superior court and provincial court into one structure.
It's home to Ontario's first Aboriginal Conference/Settlement Room, which features a circular stone hearth used for smudging ceremonies conducted prior to the start of proceedings.
The $150-million project began in 2010 was fully operational by April 2014.
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Construction on the two correctional facilities will kick off in April and is slated to be complete in the spring of 2022.
Work at the two sites is expected to enhance safety and expand access to programming and services, including support tailored to Indigenous people.
Indigenous leadership and organizations will have input into the culturally appropriate spaces and aspects of the facilities, the province said.
“The construction of the new structures at both correctional facilities will help increase access to literacy, skills development and technology programs that support safe community reintegration,” according to the release.
“This investment will also help address overcrowding in Kenora and Thunder Bay ahead of construction of the new Thunder Bay Correctional Complex.”
A timeline has not yet been confirmed for construction on that project, which will include multiple housing options, rehabilitative programming and health-care services, and improved management of, and services for, female inmates.
The province said these projects are being completed using rapid procurement processes and construction methods, via Infrastructure Ontario, in order to get them completed sooner than through traditional methods.
