The Opposition Justice Critic says she was disturbed by the conditions at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary following a tour of the facility last week.

Helen Conway Ottenheimer visited HMP on Thursday, and says government is not treating the need to replace the pen with the urgency it requires.

Conway-Ottenheimer—who once served as a criminal lawyer—says the jail is not equipped to handle the programming needed for inmates with mental health and substance abuse challenges. She calls it a real crisis that is affecting inmates and society in general.

Conway-Ottenheimer is calling on government for an update on the situation. She says the project must be done right—but says doing it right does not mean taking forever.