Canada: Covid-19 and Detention

A corrections staff members walks past one of the shower rooms at the Baffin Correctional Centre in Iqaluit. Sanitation is an ongoing challenge in prisons and during the pandemic, social distancing may create even more difficulties. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson) https://theconversation.com/why-some-canadian-prisoners-should-be-released-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-133661

On 23 April, there were 193 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in federal penitentiaries in Canada, according to a report from the Office of the Correctional Investigator. Around 400 detainees were placed in medical isolation. Measures announced by the Correctional Service on 31 March included, among other things, the suspension of all visits and the closing of shared areas such as gyms and libraries. The Office of the Correctional Investigator prohibited the distribution of hand sanitiser, based on its high alcohol content. Restrictions were implemented in 38 non-affected institutions, where the average out-of-cell time ranges from two to four hours a day. In institutions experiencing Covid-19 outbreaks, infected inmates have 20 minutes out of their cells each day, and cannot access the yard. Dr. Ivan Zinger, Correctional Investigator of Canada, said that ‘’these conditions obviously violate universal human rights standards.’’

The report of the Correctional Investigator focuses solely on federal penitentiaries; immigration detainees in Canada are held in provincial prisons, in addition to Immigration Holding Centres. In a note to the Global Detention Project, the Executive Director of the Office of the Correctional Investigator said that to get information about the treatment of immigration detainees in provincial prisons, it is necessary to request the information from “relevant provincial correctional authorities and/or from the provincial ombudsmen.”

An immigration lawyer in Canada told the GDP that “once immigration detainees are transferred to provincial jails, they come under the jurisdiction of the jails and are generally treated like other inmates in those facilities.’’ She said, “There is no publicly available information that would suggest special measures have been instituted for immigration detainees held in provincial jails, and authorities have continued to rely on alternatives to detention to release detainees on a case-by-case basis in individualized detention review hearings.” She added: “Generally, most immigration detainees are held in dedicated Immigration Holding Centres (which resemble medium-security facilities), but now a majority are being held in maximum-security provincial jails. … This is particularly problematic because detainees in jails are subjected to far more stringent restrictions on liberty and now face a heightened risk of infection. Furthermore, the tribunal conducting detention review hearings does not have jurisdiction over site or conditions of detention, so detainees cannot challenge violations of these vital residual liberty rights in their hearings.

While there has been an increase in the number of releases from immigration detention since the beginning of the pandemic, there does not appear to be a general policy regarding these releases, with each case still undergoing the standard individual procedure. One condition that must be met for a person to be released is to have an address. This, in some cases, means that asylum seekers can be kept in detention after their release order until they can prove that they have an address, or access a shelter, which are often full.

Another source in Canada, a refugee social worker, told the GDP that “anecdotal reports from detainees who are held in correctional facilities say that they can’t practice appropriate social distancing and are concerned about their safety in detention.” She added that “immigration authorities are working with counsel on finding alternatives to detention but that there are no services being provided to detainees upon release.”

According to a report by Global News (25 April), “The number of immigration detainees held in provincial jails and immigration holding centres across Canada has dropped by more than half since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, according to data provided to the news agency. And recent decisions from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB), the administrative tribunal that presides over immigration refugee matters, show how fears over Covid-19 are playing a significant role in some rulings to release immigration detainees. On March 17, there were 353 immigration detainees held in provincial jails and immigration holding centres across Canada, according to data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). By 19 April, that number dropped by more than half to 147 detainees, 117 of whom were being held in provincial jails. The remaining 30 were held in one of Canada’s three immigration holding centres located in Toronto, Laval, Que., and Surrey, B.C.”

The Ligue des Droits et Libertés (LDL) has called for more transparency from the Quebec government regarding the situation in provincial prisons. The LDL says that it has received complaints from detainees who claim that sanitary measures are effectively non-existent. In the Women’s Federal Penitentiary in Joliette, 61 percent of the detainees and guards tested positive for Covid-19.

Temporary Resident Visas are not being automatically extended during the Covid-19 crisis, and the renewal of these documents is impossible in many cases. Indeed, at Service Canada offices, biometric collection services have been suspended until further notice. Without this temporary resident status, it is impossible to access social security and medical coverage in Quebec province.

Statistics regarding Covid-19 cases in Canadian prisons can be found here: https://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/001/006/001006-1014-en.shtml

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