International human rights organizations are urging the Quebec government to stop negotiating agreements with its federal counterpart that allow the detention of immigrants in its provincial prisons. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, which are leading this campaign with the governments of all the provinces, hope that this will encourage the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to put an end to practices which they consider “abusive” by incarcerating thousands of immigrants every year.
“Our campaign is not only saying that these people should not be detained in provincial jails, it is saying that these people should not be detained at all! says France-Isabelle Langlois, Executive Director of Amnesty International Canada Francophone. In addition to a petition of 7,000 signatures, she brandished in support a legal opinion stating that “Canada’s practice of incarcerating migrant persons in provincial prisons does not comply with the standards of international human rights law. the person “. Their conditions of detention would also violate what is stipulated in the immigration detention contracts between the federal government and the provinces.
Arbitrary and indefinite detentions, physical abuse and ill-treatment, separation of children and parents. Last June, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a damning report on the detention of immigrants and the impact on their mental health covering the period from February 2020 to March 2021. reason for detaining someone is fear that the person will not show up for their next hearing. But what is it based on? asks M.me Langlois, who recalls that detained immigrants are routinely chained, handcuffed and locked in tight spaces under constant surveillance.
For the 2019-2020 fiscal year, according to CBSA data, more than 8,800 immigrants were detained for various reasons, whether because it is difficult to establish a person’s identity or because She represents a danger to public safety. However, this figure dropped considerably during the pandemic year 2020-2021, when approximately 2,000 immigrants passed through immigration holding centers and Canadian prisons.
For Amnesty, this unprecedented number of releases is proof that it is not necessary to detain so many people. “At the base, there should be no person detained for such reasons and under such conditions,” says Ms.me Langlois.
fragile people
She also said she was concerned about the revelations in the HRW report, which sounded the alarm about the impact of these detentions on the already fragile mental health of several migrants. “Some are people who have suffered enormous stress, anxiety and who, vis-à-vis people in uniform, will have reactions that we may consider inappropriate. But they are not psychopaths! » emphasizes Mr.me Langlois.
There are only three detention centers in all of Canada. Under the authority of the CBSA, these “Immigration Holding Centres” are located in the three provinces where there are the most newcomers: British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, where a brand new immigration detention center was inaugurated at the beginning of the year in Laval.
In addition to these centres, the CBSA may decide to detain a person in a provincial prison. During the year 2020-2021, it incarcerated 40% of all the people it detained there, double the percentage of previous years.
Amnesty International and HRW denounce this overuse of provincial prisons. “These are maximum security prisons, where common law prisoners live, who have committed real crimes and who are not altar boys”, deplores France-Isabelle Langlois, insisting on the fact that immigrants who incarcerated there have “broken no law”.
These are maximum security prisons, where common law prisoners live, who have committed real crimes and who are not altar boys.
Quebec will not change anything
Last January, British Columbia said it would review its agreement with the CBSA and began public consultations. This is not the case with the Quebec Ministry of Public Security (MSP), which indicated to the Homework that he did not intend to review his contract with the federal government since the prison establishments assume custody solely for security reasons, in cases where the CBSA considers that its facilities do not provide sufficient supervision. “This collaboration with the CBSA is primarily aimed at ensuring the protection of society”, replied the media relations department of the MSP, while confirming that immigrants are “subject to the same rules” as other detainees.
The Canada Border Services Agency, for its part, ensures that detention is only used as a “last resort”. The choice to detain an immigrant is guided by the maintenance of the “mental health and well-being” of the latter and the “safety of Canadians”. “These detention measures are consistent with all existing procedural safeguards and detainee rights, as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. All detention decisions are also reviewed by a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, an independent decision maker,” the CBSA communications department pointed out.