Justice Alfred: Immigration Detainees and Four-and-a-Half Years

justice alfred: But O'Marra ordered Toure's immediate transfer to the Immigration Holding Centre, a less-restrictive facility for immigration detainees, according to Toronto Star. He said that detaining Toure, who has no criminal record in Canada, has never committed a violent offence and is not considered a danger to the public, in a maximum-security jail was a disproportionate means for the government to address its concern that he is unlikely to show up for his deportation if it is ever arranged. But Justice Alfred O'Marra rejected Toure's application for release, ruling that the federal government still had a right to detain the West African man, who has been behind bars for more than four-and-a-half years because Canada has been unable to deport him. His only conviction is for a non-violent property offence from 12 years ago in Georgia, O'Marra said, referring to Toure's 2005 conviction for selling pirated CDs and DVDs in Atlanta. Toure has spent more time in a maximum-security facility than someone convicted of a serious crime. Article Continued Below . . . Mr. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.