Yesterday, the Canadian Border Services Agency, (CBSA) announced that a 24-year-old-man, detained under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act at the Edmonton Remand Centre, had passed away.
“We are saddened by the news of a third death in CBSA’s custody in 2016,” said Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International, Canada.
“It is unconscionable that immigration detainees can die in custody and that there is no independent agency with a mandate to step in and ensure human rights obligations have been met.”
On March 8, Amnesty International joined other human rights organizations across Canada, calling for an independent oversight of CBSA. Clearly, it is now ever more urgent that the Government of Canada explore alternatives to immigration detention and mandate an independent agency to oversee CBSA.
Click here for our response to the death of a person held for immigration related reasons at the Toronto East Detention Centre, on March 7.