An NDP MLA says he doesn't think there's any question a new jail needs to be built in Dauphin.
Andrew Swan, MLA for Minto, says everybody knows the current facility is outdated.
"It is a difficult facility to try to keep everybody safe, and I don't know what more this new government needs to hear or needs to know to get on with building a new jail for Dauphin."
Swan says he brought up the jail last week at a Public Accounts Committee meeting, asking the deputy minister about its progress.
"I've been told that there is no decision, that this is being reviewed, and there was nothing else that either the deputy minister or the minister would tell me."
The province says the project continues to progress through the design phase and no decisions will be made until such time as a proposal is received.
Justice Minister Heather Stefanson told CKDM in October there's no question there's a significant issue with respect to the justice system in Manitoba, and efficiencies need to be found throughout it. She said "what's taken 17 years of NDP mismanagement (is) not going to be fixed overnight."
Finance Minister Cameron Friesen told CKDM in October he wouldn't speculate on a timeline for the new jail, but said the infrastructure challenge in front of government is considerable. He also pointed to the previous government for not addressing these needs.
Swan says Dauphin's jail was next on the list for the previous government, and they were moving on it.
