A local healthcare professional that works with Manitoba Corrections is calling attention to some issues with the closure of the Dauphin jail.
Dauphin's Kirk Nyquist is a Registered Nurse, and has worked casually at the Dauphin Correctional Centre (DCC). His first concern is about the government’s reasoning for the closure.
“I think what’s happened here is the province has closed the jail, and given the public the wrong information.”
In a press release regarding the shuttering of the jail, the government stated: “there is currently sufficient capacity at the other facilities following an overall decline in the provincial inmate population”. Nyquist says this is not accurate.
“It occurred to me that the information the government has provided the public is misleading,” and Nyquist insists the government is “misleading the public in saying the correctional system is not overburdened and they can handle the closure the Dauphin jail. In actual fact, that’s incorrect.”
“Everyone in the system knows that closing the Dauphin jail is going to burden the system.”
Furthermore, Nyquist wants people to know the decision to close the jail will create serious health issues for inmates, and put them in jeopardy.
“My issue is the health and welfare of the inmates. As a Registered Nurse and employee of Manitoba Corrections, I am mandated advocate for my clients and my patients."
Nyquist also takes issue with the decision to move forward with the closure of the DCC during the pandemic.
“Closing the jail during a pandemic means now the employees have to go out there — friends and colleagues of mine — have to go out there and find housing for their families in the middle of a pandemic. So as a nurse, I’m now worried about not just the inmates.”
Nyquist brought his concerns to senior managers, the senior nursing officer, senior management at Manitoba Corrections, and the leader of the opposition. He tells CKDM he hasn’t received a response in over 7 weeks.
“They are breaking their own policies by doing this. I’ve asked them why they are doing this, and no one has answered the question.”
Nyquist has voiced his concerns in a letter to the Ombudsman, and is now waiting for them to work through their process.
The Dauphin native says he’s probably the only person willing to go this far and speak out, because he’s not concerned about his job. “I'm a casual employee and I have a part-time job elsewhere,” he explained.
“I need other people to understand that as a society, we have to be concerned about our vulnerable people. People that are incarcerated in Manitoba are vulnerable people. We have a responsibility to them.”
