Border agency can transfer Alberta immigration prisoners after agreement ends
CTV
The Canada Border Services Agency says there are alternatives to holding immigration detainees in provincial jails after Alberta said it would no longer agree to do so.
The Canada Border Services Agency says there are alternatives to holding immigration detainees in provincial jails after Alberta said it would no longer agree to do so.
The province has given written notice to the federal government that it is ending an agreement to use provincial correctional centres to house people detained on immigration matters.
The federal government has until the end of June to come up with alternative arrangements.
A border agency spokeswoman said there are federal immigration holding centres, or IHCs, in Toronto; Laval, Que.; and Surrey, B.C.
"To further reduce reliance on the provinces, the CBSA has introduced policies that will enable the transfer of individuals detained in a non-IHC region to an IHC when there is availability," Jacqueline Roby said in an email.
Mike Ellis, Alberta's minister of public safety and emergency services, said earlier this week that the change is in response to concerns about using correctional facilities to hold people who haven't been charged with a criminal offence or convicted of one.
"People who come to Canada for a fresh start and a new life deserve a better welcome than a jail cell while paperwork is sorted out. That is why we are also calling on all provinces to join us in ending this practice," he said.
