Canadese Health care providers urge Ontario to end immigration detention

A group of 130 health care professionals, including doctors, nurses and social workers, have asked Yasir Naqvi, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services for the province of Ontario, Canada to end the detention of migrants, particularly those with mental or physical health concerns. Their petition comes after three migrants reportedly died while in detention in the span of three months. According to the End Immigration Detention Network, at least 15 migrants have died while in the care of the CBSA since 2000, eight of those in Ontario.

The petition calls, among other things, for the creation of an ombudsman and for greater oversight of detention conditions, and an end to the transfer of detainees from immigration facilities to provincial jails. CBSA transfers detainees from its holding centres to provincial jails if they are deemed to pose a danger to others, when they have physical or mental health needs, or are unlikely to qualify for early release. Health professionals note, however, that incarceration itself can worsen pre-existing mental health conditions, from depression and anxiety, to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Toronto Star, 18 May; Toronto Star, 10 March; University of Toronto News, 10 June 2016