'Unjust treatment of innocent migrants': B.C. ends agreement with CBSA

A Canada Border Services Agency officer is silhouetted at the Douglas-Peace Arch border crossing, in Surrey, B.C., on Monday, March 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canadian border officials will no longer be able to detain migrants in provincial jails in British Columbia, the province said Thursday, announcing an end to the arrangement.

B.C.'s minister of public safety said the provincial government has given the Canada Border Services Agency the necessary 12 months' written notice.

When that time is up, the arrangement that allows CBSA to use B.C. jails to detain migrants will be over.

What happens next is undetermined at this point, Mike Farnworth said, but B.C. Corrections is working with CBSA to develop a transition plan.

The decision to end the arrangement followed a review by corrections staff involving consultations with advocacy groups and others.

"The review brought to light that aspects of the arrangement do not align with our government's commitment to upholding human-rights standards or our dedication to pursuing social justice and equity for everyone," Farnworth said in a statement Thursday.

The provincial human rights commissioner commended the decision to end what she called "unjust treatment of innocent migrants."

In a statement, Kasari Govender said ending the arrangement will mean that migrants will no longer be put in B.C. jail cells "simply for administrative reasons like missing documentation" when it comes into effect.

The decision does not mean that CBSA can't hold migrants in a detention centre, but it means they won't be held in facilities operated by B.C. Corrections.

Govender said she hopes other provinces will follow B.C.'s lead, saying CBSA's own data suggested 94 per cent of immigration detainees are not a risk to the public, just held for administrative reasons.

"Detaining innocent migrants in jail is cruel, unjust and violates human rights commissions," she said, calling on the federal government to take further steps to end the process.

"There is strong evidence that racialized people and those with disabilities experience harsher treatment and are detained for longer periods of time," Govender said. "Across Canada, migrants are detained for non-criminal purposes and for indefinite periods of time, which violates international human rights law and can result in devastating impacts on migrants' health and well-being."