It’s time for Canada to
truly welcome people seeking safety or a better life
Did you know?
Even though Canada holds itself out as a refugee-welcome and multicultural country, every year the federal government incarcerates thousands of people seeking safety or a better life.
1. Email
Email British Columbia officials to give people the #WelcomeToCanada they deserve.
2. Tweet
📢Every year Canada locks up 1000s in immigration detention, including max-security jails. @mikefarnworthbc @jjhorgan stop detention in BC jails! Cancel your detention contract & give people seeking safety & a better life the #WelcomeToCanada they deserve welcometo-canada.org
TWEET3. Call
Contact your premier.
Our Vision
We believe Canada should uphold its welcoming reputation by treating all people with the dignity and respect they deserve.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented human rights violations in immigration detention in Canada. Between April 2017 and March 2020, more than a fifth of immigration detainees – about 5,400 – were held in 78 provincial jails across Canada, many of which are maximum security facilities. People held in immigration detention are restricted to small spaces and under constant surveillance. In provincial jails, many are confined in dangerous environments where they may be subjected to violence.
People who are from communities of colour, particularly those who are Black, appear to be incarcerated in immigration detention for longer periods and often in provincial jails rather than immigration holding centres.
People with mental health conditions face discrimination throughout the detention process. Immigration detention also has long-term consequences that ripple beyond immigration detainees and affect their children, other loved ones, and communities.
There are viable alternatives to immigration detention! Instead of returning to business-as-usual after the Covid-19 pandemic, Canada has a real opportunity to overhaul its immigration and refugee protection system in a way that prioritizes human rights and mental health.
We are asking all Canadians to call on their federal and provincial leaders to cancel the immigration detention contracts with the federal government, and stop using provincial jails to lock up people seeking safety or a better life in Canada.
Read the full report.
Facilities Where Immigration Detainees are Held Across Canada
