Question Period Note: CBSA Immigration Detention

•The CBSA uses immigration detention as a measure of last resort, and only after all alternatives have been considered.
•While sometimes a necessary tool – especially where an individual poses a danger to Canadians – the CBSA continues to expand Alternatives to Detention and reduce its use overall. Of those in detention or on an Alternative to Detention, almost 98% are on an Alternatives to Detention, 1.5% are in Immigration Holding Centres, and less than 1% in a Provincial Correctional Facility.
•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 higher risk detainees presently under the care of provincial correctional authorities.

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 for individuals.
•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 (IHC) 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 and 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.

Immigration detention is governed by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its regulations. To protect the safety, health and security of Canadians and the integrity of our border, Canada’s immigration laws permit the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to detain individuals for a lack of identity, for being a flight risk, and for being a danger to the public. Immigration detention is an administrative measure that is never intended to be punitive in nature. It is exercised to ensure the integrity of the immigration system and public safety.

Canada’s immigration detention program is based on the principle that detention shall only be used as a measure of last resort, in limited circumstances, and only after appropriate alternatives to detention are considered and determined to be unsuitable or unavailable.

In cases where a permanent resident or foreign national is detained, the Immigration and Refugee Board, an independent decision-maker authorized to review the legal grounds for maintaining the detention, will conduct a first detention review within 48 hours of the initial detention or without delay afterwards, in order to review the reasons for continued detention. If detention is continued by the IRB, further detention reviews will be conducted at least once during the next seven days and thereafter, at least once during each 30-day period.

Since June 2018, the CBSA has expanded the options for alternatives to detention, which now also include: an expanded community case management and supervision program, national voice reporting, and an expanded electronic monitoring program. The CBSA has also recently undertaken a review of its Alternatives to Detention (ATD) Program to determine the effectiveness of available alternatives with a vision of further expansion of options nationwide.

In addition to investments made to the alternatives to detention program, the CBSA has made significant crown investments in its Immigration Holding Centres (IHC), which included the replacement of the centres in British Columbia and Québec, and a retrofit of the existing Immigration Holding Centres in Toronto. These investments have allowed the CBSA to reduce the use of provincial facilities, to provide additional care for vulnerable individuals, including those with mental health needs and to reduce the number of minors in detention.

The CBSA is committed to exercising its 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 the primary considerations. There is 24/7 on site nursing care available upon request; should that not be sufficient then they are transported to a local hospital. The CBSA has recently experienced two deaths within its IHCs in the past year. This raises the total to 16 deaths of individuals being held for immigration purposes since 2015.

The Agency takes these incidents seriously and is committed to improving detention safety and security for all individuals in its care and is taking proactive measures to ensure incidents such as these do not occur in the future. In line with internal policies, the CBSA reviews each incident, cooperates with any external investigation or inquests and responds to any related recommendations when and where required.

The CBSA continues to modernize its detention program to ensure an immigration system where persons are treated with compassion and dignity, while also ensuring public safety. Improvements include the use of a risk management framework which helps guide detention and release decisions as well as potential legislative and/or regulatory changes aimed at ensuring program integrity.

On March 3, 2023, former Liberal cabinet ministers Lloyd Axworthy and Allan Rock endorsed a letter representing 40 advocacy groups calling on the federal government to stop incarcerating immigration detainees in provincial jails. The letter, addressed to PM Justin Trudeau, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser and Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino, came after the recent inquest into the death of Abdurahman Ibrahim Hassan, a Somali refugee with a length history of mental illness who died while in CBSA custody. The objective of the inquest is to prevent deaths like these from taking place in the future. In the case of Hassan, 53 recommendations were made by the five jurors – most notably to “seek and allocate resources to develop and implement a plan to end the practice of housing immigration detainees in provincial correctional facilities in Ontario.”

As of May 17, 2023, 12,393 individuals are enrolled in alternatives to detention, 220 are being held in an IHC and 102 are detained in a provincial correctional facility. The CBSA works with partners to maintain community safety and to ensure immigration detainees are treated in a dignified and compassionate manner.

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