Released on April 14, 2023
On April 3, Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Christine Tell provided notice to the federal government that Saskatchewan is ending its agreement to hold immigration detainees for the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA).
"We have reviewed the existing agreement and, after careful consideration, determined it is no longer consistent with the goals we want to achieve in Saskatchewan correctional facilities," Tell said.
The province originally signed the existing memorandum of understanding to house persons detained under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in 1994. The agreement will officially end on September 30, 2023. Saskatchewan is working with CBSA to develop a safe and effective transition plan.
While Saskatchewan will no longer hold individuals solely on immigration matters related to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, it will continue to hold non-Canadian citizens who have criminal charges until those matters have been concluded.
There were 16 individuals in Saskatchewan correctional centres on an immigration hold in 2022, 14 in 2021, 19 in 2020, and 23 in 2019.
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For more information, contact:
Noel Busse
Corrections, Policing and Public Safety
Regina
Phone: 306-787-8959
Email: cpjumedia@gov.sk.ca