Ralph Goodale: Immigration and Immigrant Detainees

ralph goodale: By Tonda Mac Charles Ottawa Bureau reporter Mon., Aug. 15, 2016 OTTAWA—The federal public safety minister says a $138-million plan unveiled Monday to replace two immigration detention centres in greater Vancouver and Montreal will ease pressure on an overburdened national system, according to Toronto Star. However, Ralph Goodale offered nothing to expand or replace an immigration holding centre in the greater Toronto area. Immigration holding facilities in Vancouver and Laval, Que., will be replaced as part of a $138-million overhaul intended to improve detention conditions for newcomers. And there was nothing that immediately addresses the needs of the more than 200 individuals — about 30 per cent of illegal immigrant detainees in Ontario — who end up in provincial maximum-security jails. Article Continued Below At the time Goodale, the minister responsible Canada Border Services Agency, promised reforms were coming. Immigration detention reforms fall short on oversight, critics say Last month a hunger strike by a group of about 50 immigrants in two Ontario jails highlighted widespread concerns about the length and conditions of their detention. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.