Nova Scotia has decided to end its detention contract with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) regarding the incarceration of migrants in its prisons, becoming the second province to make this choice.
The Maritimes province has thus followed in the footsteps of British Columbia, which made the same decision on July 21.
Several human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, hailed this initiative as a victory.
“There is now clear pressure to end this harmful practice across the country. We urge the other provinces and the federal government to follow this example,” said France-Isabelle Langlois, director general of Amnesty International Canada Francophone, in a press release on Wednesday.
The organization has also invited Quebec to follow the same path and asked the parties in the middle of the electoral race to take a position on the subject.
“In the Atlantic Provinces and across the country, migrants and asylum seekers too often face abusive and indefinite immigration detention, which is particularly traumatic for those fleeing war or persecution in search of a safe haven,” said Julie Chamagne, Executive Director of the Halifax Refugee Clinic.