- Aug 6, 2012
- 28,034
- 24,840
- 2,405
We have always had our Gitmos for immigrants in Ontario. Coupled with our unaccountable Security Industrial Complex that target our poor and vulnerable, it is that some Americans believe we share the same values. Hell, my wife just went through a secret trial which no one could attend...
www.thestar.com
Neil Rashad Sturrup had been locked in a maximum-security jail in Milton for nearly two months when he testified about the conditions of his detention.
“How many times a week are you allowed to leave your cell to go take a shower?” his lawyer asked.
“Once or twice,” Sturrup said.
The jail’s frequent lockdowns meant social interactions were limited to a few passing words from guards through the bars, he told the December hearing.
Sturrup, an immigration detainee with well-documented mental illness, was not in an Ontario jail cell because he was charged or convicted of a crime. He wasn’t considered dangerous.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), in co-operation with Ontario’s government, had locked him up in the most restrictive conditions possible solely because they believed he would not show up for his deportation to the Bahamas, if and when they could arrange it.
The Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator presiding over Sturrup’s case was concerned that “a vulnerable person with mental health issues” was effectively being held in solitary confinement, and questioned why he was in the provincial jail, rather than the less-restrictive immigration holding centre. She called his treatment “completely unacceptable.”
Across the country a growing number of lawmakers have reached a similar conclusion.
Five provinces have recently scrapped their agreements with the CBSA, signalling an end to the use of jails for immigration detention in half the country.
Meanwhile, the controversial practice continues to be routine in Ontario.
Ontario continues to house immigration detainees in jails even as other provinces put an end to ‘truly shocking’ practice
Nearly 460 detainees were jailed here last year, most because they were considered flight risks. Ontario says it’s reviewing its agreement with Ottawa.
www.thestar.com
Neil Rashad Sturrup had been locked in a maximum-security jail in Milton for nearly two months when he testified about the conditions of his detention.
“How many times a week are you allowed to leave your cell to go take a shower?” his lawyer asked.
“Once or twice,” Sturrup said.
The jail’s frequent lockdowns meant social interactions were limited to a few passing words from guards through the bars, he told the December hearing.
Sturrup, an immigration detainee with well-documented mental illness, was not in an Ontario jail cell because he was charged or convicted of a crime. He wasn’t considered dangerous.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), in co-operation with Ontario’s government, had locked him up in the most restrictive conditions possible solely because they believed he would not show up for his deportation to the Bahamas, if and when they could arrange it.
The Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator presiding over Sturrup’s case was concerned that “a vulnerable person with mental health issues” was effectively being held in solitary confinement, and questioned why he was in the provincial jail, rather than the less-restrictive immigration holding centre. She called his treatment “completely unacceptable.”
Across the country a growing number of lawmakers have reached a similar conclusion.
Five provinces have recently scrapped their agreements with the CBSA, signalling an end to the use of jails for immigration detention in half the country.
Meanwhile, the controversial practice continues to be routine in Ontario.
