Parliamentary Committee Notes: Immigration Detention
Proposed Response:
- The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) uses immigration detention as a measure of last resort, and only after all suitable alternatives to detention have been considered.
- Alternatives are to be considered in every case, however only those individuals whose risk can be effectively managed, and who are cooperative with the immigration process, are deemed suitable for programming.
- As of March 6, 2024, 12,819 individuals are enrolled in alternative to detention, 174 are being held in an Immigration Holding Centre and 54 are detained in a provincial correctional facility or another type of facility.
- While the CBSA continues to expand the use of alternatives to detention, there remains individuals who have engaged in criminal activities or who demonstrate behaviours that would make it inappropriate or dangerous to release them.
- As a result of recent decisions by several provinces to terminate their long standing immigration detention agreements, the CBSA is developing contingency plans to house current and future higher risk detainees.
If pressed:
- The CBSA remains actively engaged with provincial counterparts to prepare for an orderly transition, guided by our shared interest in public safety.
- The CBSA strives to manage the medical and mental health of those individuals in our care, and is committed to ensuring that all detainees in detention receive the most professional care possible. To achieve these goals, the CBSA has made investments into on-site medical services which allows for access to health care services such as nurses, doctors and mental health professionals in order to ensure the best possible care.
- Throughout the detention process, the health and safety of individuals is regularly monitored and they have timely access to treatment and care. The Immigration Holding Centers have on-staff physicians, nurses, psychologists and psychiatrists to support detainees with their medical needs.
- If mental health issues are identified, the medical staff will assess the individual to prescribe and administer medication, as needed, and the individual will be closely monitored; individuals may also be referred to outside health care professionals or facilities for further evaluation or treatment if deemed necessary.
Background:
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) works to ensure that it is exercising responsibility for detentions to the highest possible standards, with the physical and mental health and well-being of detainees as well as the safety and security of Canadians as primary considerations. Detainee rights are guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; individuals who are detained for immigration purposes are protected from arbitrary arrest and detention and have access to effective remedies. Canada does not detain asylum seekers simply because they make a claim.
CBSA officers detain foreign nationals and permanent residents when there are reasonable grounds to believe the person is inadmissible to Canada and is:
- a danger to the public;
- unlikely to appear (flight risk) for immigration processes;
- unable to satisfy the officer of their identity (foreign nationals only);
- upon entry, to complete an immigration examination; or,
- has been designated as part of an irregular arrival by the Minister of Public Safety (16 years of age or older only).
CBSA officers may also detain foreign nationals and permanent residents at a port of entry where there are reasonable grounds to suspect the individual is inadmissible due to security grounds, human rights violations or criminality. Immigration detention is not punitive but exercised to ensure the integrity of the immigration system and public safety. Detention is a last resort and officers must always consider alternatives to detention. Alternatives to detention may include release on reporting conditions, including performance bond; cash deposit; establishment of a bondsperson; acceptance into a community case management and supervision program or electronic monitoring.
A CBSA officer’s decision to detain a person under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is subject to a review by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), an independent quasi-judicial tribunal. Detainees must appear before the IRB within the first 48 hours of being detained. At a detention review, the IRB may release the person or identify conditions for release or determine that detention should continue. If the IRB determines that detention should be continued, the individual must appear in the next seven days and every 30 days thereafter. The Immigration Division of the IRB always provides reasons for its decisions, and its decisions are subject to judicial review with leave from the Federal Court.
In addition, the CBSA has operationalized new or retrofitted Immigration Holding Centers. The changes made to Immigration Holding Centers will allow the CBSA to hold higher-risk detainees, rather than relying on provincial correctional facilities (where they remain available as provinces have opted out of housing immigration detainees). The facility in Surrey, British Columbia opened in 2020, while the new facility in Laval, Quebec was completed in early fall 2022. In 2022-23, Immigration Holding Centers were used for 72% of detention cases, while provincial facilities were used for 16% of cases (the remainder were housed temporarily in on other detention facilities (e.g., RCMP). In comparison, in 2014-15, Immigration Holding Centers were used for 57% of cases and provincial facilities were used for 32% of cases. To note, the proportion of persons detained in Immigration Holding Centers vs provincial correctional facilities has shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic as low-risk detainees were released at greater rates, resulting in a greater proportion of detainees housed in provincial correctional facilities.
In addition, the CBSA has significantly lowered long-term detention and has seen a 64 % decrease in the number of individuals detained for more than 99 days since 2014-15.
Minors are housed or detained only as a last resort. The CBSA actively and continuously seeks alternatives to detention when unconditional release of parent(s)/legal guardian(s) is not appropriate and it is not the CBSA’s practice to separate children from their parent(s) or legal guardian(s). Alternative arrangements for minors may be sought, such as placement under the care of child welfare authorities or family members. Where detention may be considered, the best interest of the child is always a primary consideration. Regulatory amendments concerning the best interest of the child were introduced to insure greater consistency and to close policy gaps by enshrining in regulation that the best interest of the child must be considered in any decision that would affect a non-detained minor and also that there exists a mandatory list of factors was created for consideration when determining a best interest of the child with respect to detention and release. The vast majority of minors held in an Immigration Holding Centre are not detained, but are housed. A housed minor is free to remain with their parents and can stay or leave the Immigration Holding Centre (subject to consent).
Detention Statistics
Since November 2016, the CBSA has been posting statistics related to immigration detention online. Published statistics include annual and quarterly statistics up to 2022-23 and include details on minors including their status, age, gender, length of housing/detention and facility type, as well as the average and median length of time in a facility.
As of March 6, 2024, 12,819 individuals are enrolled in alternatives to detention, 174 are being held in an Immigration Holding Centre and 54 are detained in a provincial correctional facility or another type of facility.
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