MAYOR EYES OLD CORRECTIONS CENTRE FOR YOUTH DRUG TREATMENT FACILITY

Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli says the city should buy the former Rideau
Correctional Centre and convert it into the region's first residential
drug-treatment centre for youths.

Yesterday, in the wake of a task force report on the city's fight
against drugs and addiction, the mayor proposed the purchase of the
property, which includes more than 800 acres of south-end land. Mr.
Chiarelli will ask council to approve the $1.3-million purchase,
saying funds in the environmental land acquisition budget are
available, and that the facility is long overdue.

"This is simply not acceptable in our city. We have too many resources
and too many smart people, so let's get to it," he said. "It must be a
priority."

The land rests along the Rideau River, near Burritts Rapids and the
Marlborough Forest in rural Ottawa's extreme southwest corner. In
total, three properties would be purchased and those portions of land
not used by the treatment centre would be kept as greenspace.

Mr. Chiarelli said negotiations with the province, which owns the
land, have been going on for months and the former correctional centre
would be renovated.

Mr. Chiarelli said a building inspector and an architect have studied
the structure and said that conversion into a treatment centre is
"practical and doable" for a "reasonable" cost.

If approved, Mr. Chiarelli said the centre could open in two to four
years with between 100 and 200 beds for those 16 and younger.

"I became aware of the site for environmental purposes, and I just
happened to become aware of the former correctional facility there. I
thought it could work out to be the ideal situation," he said. "This
is far from being a done deal, but we have taken a first step. We are
going to have to create -- predominantly through the province -- a
method to deliver that service, but we have all the pieces in place in
our community. I'll be very disappointed if committee, council, and
the province don't get behind this."

Mr. Chiarelli credited Ottawa restaurateur and philanthropist Dave
Smith for piquing his interest in the subject. Mr. Smith's youth
treatment centre on Bronson Avenue closes at 4 p.m. daily, and he has
long lobbied for an overnight program.

"What we heard today is truly a godsend. When you plant a seed in this
community and you get people on your bandwagon, ideas become reality,"
Mr. Smith said.

At the very least, the facility would save Ottawa families from
gruelling commutes. The closest Ontario centre of this kind is in
Thunder Bay, and a press conference yesterday heard from one woman who
spent half her annual salary travelling to Utah, where her teenage
daughter spent two years in treatment.

"I'm thrilled that they are talking about a facility here, but it is
what happens in the facility, the nature and effectiveness of the
program that will make the really big difference," said Ellie
Barrington, a member of the task force. "It's great news, but the
building is not how recovery happens."

Mrs. Barrington gave a tearful account of her family's experience with
substance abuse from council chambers yesterday. She happily reported
that her daughter turns 17 next week and has been clean for two years.

Still, other families face the same "desperate" circumstances and
require more public services, according to the report.

The Community Network, a group of treatment providers, researchers,
support agencies and law enforcement officials, was commissioned by
Mr. Chiarelli last summer to identify the city's priorities in
battling drugs and addiction. According to the report, more than
30,000 in the city are affected and only 12 per cent receive treatment.

"We have a problem," said co-chairman George Langill, the former chief
executive at the Royal Ottawa Hospital. "No segment of the population
is left unaffected. Addiction can affect anyone, and it does."

The report made two major recommendations: "enhancing the availability
of treatment facilities and services, and increasing prevention
through education programs."

The report will be presented to the city's health, recreation and
social services committee on June 15.