QUESTION PERIOD — Public Safety
Canada Border Services Agency--Migrant Detention
September 28, 2022
Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. According to an article by investigative journalist Brigitte Bureau published on CBC this morning, one in four migrants, including children, ends up in prison.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International put out a report in June 2021 that looks into the detention of migrants in Canada and documents serious human rights violations. The report also makes the following six recommendations to the government:
Gradually abolish immigration detention.
End the use of solitary confinement in immigration detention.
Establish an independent body responsible for overseeing and investigating CBSA . . . .
Sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment . . . .
Conduct a national independent review of the immigration detention system . . . .
Withdraw Canada’s declaration and reservation to Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Does the government plan to implement the six recommendations made last year, and what timeline has it set to follow through on its commitments? If not, why not? Thank you.
Canada has a strong and fair refugee system that ensures the security of our borders and at the same time provides protection to those who need it. I have been assured that the detention of immigrants is a measure of last resort.
I have also been told that the government is making significant progress towards reform by implementing fundamental elements and the National Immigration Detention Framework to address the recommendations you highlighted, such as introducing a ministerial direction to end the housing of minors, ensuring that alternatives to detention are always considered first, developing health services and general conditions in immigration holding centres and reducing reliance on provincial facilities. The government recognizes that there is still work to be done and has made a commitment to continue fighting for a robust and balanced immigration system.
I am pleased to know that certain points were covered. Would it be possible for you to table in the Senate the responses to the various recommendations that were made or inform us of the measures that have been taken and what remains to be done? Would it be possible for you to take care of that?
Thank you for your supplementary question, honourable colleague. I will commit to seeking additional information from the government and to sharing the response with the chamber as soon as possible.
