Immigration Detention (CBSA)

Issue:

The CBSA is addressing long-standing challenges in immigration detention by implementing the National Immigration Detention Framework. This will lead to a more humane, dignified, and risk-based detention process.

Proposed Response:

If pressed on standards of care:

Background:

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) works to ensure that it is using the highest possible standards in detentions. Physical and mental health, along with the well-being of detainees are of paramount consideration, as is the safety and security of Canadians.

On June 17, 2021, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International authored a joint report that alleged that immigration detainees, particularly those with psychosocial disabilities, are subject to serious international human rights violations in Canada.

Detention is an administrative measure used as a last resort after all alternatives are thoroughly considered. It is carried out using fundamental procedural safeguards and detainee rights at the forefront, as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

When an individual is detained, they are either placed in a CBSA Immigration Holding Centre (IHC) or a provincial detention facility. In provinces where there is no holding centre and/or the person has a higher risk profile, the CBSA uses provincial facilities (under established memoranda of understanding).

New standards as of summer 2021

The CBSA implemented new national immigration detention standards in the summer of 2021, which provide guidelines for detainee treatment in CBSA holding centres and non-CBSA detention facilities. These standards ensure all individuals are treated in a dignified and humane way that is aligned with their assessed level of risk and consistent with how the detention program is run across Canada.

The standards replace the 2002 National Standards & Monitoring Plan for the Regulation and Operation of CBSA Detention Centres. The new standards reflect the CBSA’s commitment to improving immigration detention and better guide the administration of immigration holding centres and the treatment of immigration detainees, across Canada, including those held in non-CBSA facilities. They establish expected practices and provide for national consistency in the administration of the detention program, particularly in areas related to safety, security, detainee care, activities, administration and management and order.

All individuals subject to detention are provided with the publication Information for people detained under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which provides information about their rights and obligations, and gives answers to general questions about their detention and the associated review process. Detainees also receive the Immigration Detention Information Package, which provides an orientation to the facility where they are being temporarily detained. 

CBSA staff routinely meet with detainees to discuss their detention and give them an opportunity to voice their concerns. If a detainee comments about their detention conditions during a visit, an officer may raise the issue(s) with facility management to see if it/they can be resolved. (For example, if a detainee has concerns about their health and safety in a particular unit, the CBSA officer can request a transfer.) The CBSA management also meets regularly with provincial authorities on both a regional and national level to discuss detention and detainee management.

Training, CBSA policy development, and facility renewal are designed with the well-being of detainees in mind. Staff receive mandatory training on preventing suicide and self-harm, as well as on mental health.

The CBSA also revised the Detainee Medical Needs form, which is not a diagnostic tool, but a tool for officers to note any information pertaining to a detainee's self-identified health care needs, before the detainee has their initial consultation with a health care professional. The information may be used by health care professionals and other detention facility staff to do triage and to increase the monitoring of detainees with possible physical or mental health conditions.

Vulnerable detainees, such as those perceived to be suffering from mental illness, are promptly referred to medical services for assessment, care and follow-up. In the event that a detainee’s needs require medical treatment outside the detention facility, and the need has been confirmed by medical staff, arrangements are made for the detainee to be transported to off-site medical service providers.

Detention statistics

Since November 2016, the CBSA has been posting statistics related to immigration detention online. They include annual and quarterly statistics up to 2020-2021, and 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.

Immigration Holding Centres (IHCs)

Minors in detention

Long-term detainees

As of October 27, 2021 there were 37 detainees  who were in detention for over 99 days, down from 39 on March 17, 2020 (when COVID-19 measures were implemented).

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