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Wielding a giant pair of scissors to cut a shiny blue ribbon, a trio of Alberta cabinet ministers officially opened Canada’s largest jail five years ago.

Located on the city’s northwest edge, the new Edmonton Remand Centre was state of the art in March 2013 — a 60,000-square-metre, 1,952-capacity detention facility designed to solve the problems of its dank, overcrowded downtown Edmonton predecessor.

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Five years later, the new remand centre has solved some of those problems, while creating new ones of its own.

Since it opened, correctional officers have repeatedly complained about safety at the facility, while inmates have raised concerns about living conditions.

At the same time, Alberta’s remand population has surged. People who have not been found guilty of a crime now make up more than 64 per cent of Alberta’s provincial inmate population — a larger proportion than before the new remand opened, and one of the highest rates in Canada.