New Brunswick must stop detaining immigrants in provincial jails

New Brunswick is moving ahead with building a $32-million jail in Fredericton as 243 asylum seekers have arrived in the province. The refugees urgently need legal aid. Migrant advocates are worried the refugees will fail their claims without proper legal assistance and possibly end up detained in provincial jails, a practice abandoned in other provinces.  

Canada promotes itself as supporting diversity, a “consistently strong voice for the protection of human rights and the advancement of democratic values.” Yet, the nation confines immigrants seeking refuge in special immigrant detention facilities, euphemistically called “immigration holding centres,” as well as in provincial jails.

Ebrahim Toure spent over five years in an immigration centre and endured 69 hearings before being released. Abdoul Abdi, a man who came to Canada as a child refugee, was jailed at the Madawaska Correctional Regional Centre in St. Hilaire, New Brunswick in 2018 before Canada made a determination to allow him to stay in Canada.

Numerous international human rights organizations have denounced Canada for detaining migrants. For example, according to the UN Human Rights Committee report in 2015, Canada violated the rights of the vulnerable by discriminating against and detaining migrants without due process, violating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom.

In a Supreme Court Case between the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and the Attorney General of Canada vs Tusif Ur Rehman Chhina, numerous local and international migrant alliances have called for an end to immigration detention.

Likewise, the 2021 report by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, “I didn’t feel like a human in there,” highlighted systemic discrimination and exploitation in Canada’s immigration system. 

A systematic review of immigration detention and mental health noted anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder as the most commonly reported conditions both during and following detention. The duration of detention was positively associated with severity of mental health symptoms. 

Across the country, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia have cancelled agreements with the Canada Border Services Agency on detaining immigrants, citing systemic human rights violations. The CBSA currently has no oversight civilian body to review and investigate complaints relating to the CBSA. 

The COVID-19 pandemic confirmed that there are viable alternatives to the inhumane holding and confinement of immigrant detainees in detention centres and provincial jails. Hundreds of people were released on conditions to prevent the spread of the virus during the pandemic. 

Human Rights Watch argues that the case management model, which supports immigrants in the community, is cost-effective and accomplishes immigration enforcement goals. In addition, collaboration with community organizations such as the John Howard Society of Canada enables immigration detainees to receive support from a holistic perspective. 

Other alternative measures to detainment which are effective and humane consist of in-person reporting and voice reporting. In addition, for immigrants who pose a severe flight risk threat, electronic monitoring (ankle bracelet) is enforced. Despite this controversial method, it is still more humane than detainment. 

BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner cites CBSA data indicating that 94 per cent of immigration detainees are held for administrative purposes and are not a threat to society. Many detainees are victims themselves, who are survivors of war, human trafficking and smuggling, and other unimaginable circumstances that the average Canadian cannot begin to comprehend. Jailing them only retraumatizes people who are seeking safety. 

In words tweeted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, “To all those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you.” Unfortunately, New Brunswick’s interpretation of #WelcometoCanada is to strip one of their freedom, human rights, and dignity. 

New Brunswick must follow other provinces and end its agreement with CBSA and stop detaining immigrants in the province’s jails.

Andrew Clark, Erin Cunningham, Rylee Hopkins, and Seiku Diakite are students completing their Bachelor of Social Work degrees at St. Thomas University. They recently completed a social action placement with the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre. The Madhu Centre advocates for reforms and systemic changes aimed at protecting the rights, equality, and dignity of migrant workers in New Brunswick and beyond, including the abolition of immigration detention.