A candelight vigil is planned in Vancouver as a display of solidarity with international protests against the conditions of migrant detention centres in the United States.
On Friday evening, a group is expected to gather outside the Vancouver Art Gallery as part of Lights for Liberty's global protest movement.
A Facebook page for the event states the protests "will bring thousands of people to locations worldwide as well as to detention camps across [the United States], into the streets and into their own front yards, to protest the inhumane conditions faced by refugees."
The U.S. has faced significant criticism in recent weeks as accounts have emerged of overcrowding and unsanitary conditions in American border detention facilities.
Canada has its own detention practices and the Canada Border Services Agency can detain foreign nationals and permanent residents under certain conditions – including if they pose security risks or are unlikely to appear for immigration proceedings. However, the CBSA must first consider all reasonable alternatives.
Vancouver's holding centre is at the airport and can hold up to 24 detainees for up to 48 hours. Men and women are held separately, but children may be kept with their mothers. The facility has common rooms, access to games, televisions and telephones.
According to the CBSA, everyone in its holding centres gets three meals and two snacks per day with special dietary needs considered.
As part of Friday's vigil, event organizers say they're urging Canadian politicians to take action against the U.S., specifically with regards to detention centres and their conditions.
"Speak up or go down in history complicit," the event page says.
The Vancouver vigil will start with speakers at 7 p.m. outside the art gallery, followed by candle lighting and a walk to the Trump International Hotel.
With files from The Canadian Press
