A new detention center for women is being built in Montreal to replace the Maison Tanguay detention center that closed in 2016 due to obsolescence, Public Security Minister François Bonnardel confirmed on Monday.
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The demolition of the old facility should be completed by the summer of 2024, according to a press release from the minister’s office published on Monday.
Construction of the new 237-seat prison infrastructure, estimated to cost nearly $400 million, is expected to be completed by the summer of 2029.
Prisoners who have been temporarily transferred to Leclerc detention center in Laval will be housed in the new facility from 2030.
“What we are announcing today is not only the construction of a new facility, truly adapted to the reality of imprisoned women, but above all the realization of a project that can offer them better prospects for social reintegration thanks to greater access to programs and services they need,” said François Bonnardel, Minister of Public Security.