Lethbridge Correctional Centre, file photo. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Provincial Politics

Alberta to no longer hold federal immigration detainees in provincial jails

Jan 18, 2023 | 2:37 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Government of Alberta says it has provided written notice to Ottawa that it is ending an agreement with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

The agreement allowed the CBSA to use provincial correctional centres to house people who are detained on immigration matters.

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis says the change is in response to concerns about using jails to hold people who have not been charged with or convicted of a criminal offence.

“Immigration legislation is the federal government’s responsibility – and the care and custody of people detained on immigration matters should be as well,” says Ellis. “People who come to Canada for a fresh start and a new life deserve a better welcome than a jail cell while paperwork is sorted out. That is why we are also calling on all provinces to join us in ending this practice.”

The current agreement was signed in 2006. In September 2020, the provincial government notified the federal government of its intentions to end the agreement as of March 31, 2021.

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Both sides agreed to extend the deal following requests from Ottawa, which is set to continue until March 31, 2023.

Now, the notice from Ellis grants the federal government an additional three months, until June 30, 2023, to make alternate arrangements for CBSA detainees.

Between April 1 and October 31, 2022, the number of immigration detainees in provincial facilities has averaged 15 people per day.