Prairie Region and Transportation and Security Services – Site Visit and Bidders’ Conference

CBSA Detention Program

Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) stipulates who is inadmissible to Canada, including: security threats (espionage, subversion, terrorism, threat to Canadians etc.); human or international rights violators, and criminals (including organized crime). Under the IRPA, the Canada Border Services Agency (hereafter referred to as the CBSA) is empowered with the right to arrest, detain and remove permanent residents and foreign nationals who are found to be inadmissible to Canada. The CBSA also has the statutory obligation to remove individuals as soon as possible. The CBSA is the sole federal accountable immigration detention authority, and as such, is responsible for the care and control of immigration Detainees.

Detention is normally used at the beginning of the enforcement process when the identity of the person is not established or the person is believed to be a danger to the public and, at the end of the process when removal is imminent and the person is unlikely to appear for removal.

The CBSA’s policy and guidelines are clear; if detention is required for immigration purposes, detention should be for the shortest time possible. Several factors must be considered when deciding to detain, including the availability and potential use of alternatives to detention when appropriate; allowing a person to be released under specific terms and conditions, such as deposits and guarantees; and, reporting requirements. When making detention decisions, CBSA officers are guided by the IRPA and its regulations, as well as by the CBSA’s guidelines for its detention. Each decision must be assessed on its own merits, and CBSA officers must always consider the impact releasing someone into the community would have on the safety of Canadians.

Detention can occur when:

1. A CBSA officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is inadmissible and:
   1. could pose a danger to the public;
   2. is unlikely to appear for immigration proceedings (flight risk); or,
   3. their identity has not been established;

1. A CBSA officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that the person is inadmissible for security reasons, violating human or international rights, serious criminality, criminality or organized criminality;

1. It is necessary to complete the immigration examination; or

1. A foreign national is designated as an irregular arrival by the Minister of Public Safety (16 years of age or older only).

All individuals subject to detention are entitled to a detention review, according to timelines specified within the IRPA and its regulations. These detention reviews are conducted by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), an independent quasi-judicial body that makes determinations on immigration related matters. In addition to detention reviews, most Detainees will be subject to immigration hearing procedures that are undertaken to rectify their immigration status within Canada. These hearings are also undertaken by the IRB, independent of the CBSA.

For more information, please see the Detention Fact Sheet: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/security-securite/detent-eng.html.

CBSA Removals Program

The CBSA has a statutory obligation under the IRPA to arrest, detain, and remove any foreign national who is inadmissible to Canada. Immigration removal is an integral part of the CBSA’s security and public safety mandate.

Any foreign national who is inadmissible to Canada may be subject to an inadmissibility report, written by either a Border Services Officer at a Port of Entry (POE), or an Inland Enforcement Officer if the subject has entered Canada. Depending on the particular inadmissibility, a decision as to whether or not to issue a removal order will be made by a reviewing officer acting under the delegated authority of the Minister, or by the IRB. There are three types of removal orders: departure order, exclusion order, and a deportation order.

There are a number of requirements to be met prior to removal that are imbedded in the IRPA. For instance, all those subject to removal have the right to file an application for judicial review before the Federal Court, accompanied by a stay motion, throughout the process. Once domestic obstacles are overcome, there remain a number of additional factors that may impede progress on finalizing cases.

Immigration legislation states that those under an enforceable removal order must be removed as soon as possible. Once a person is removal ready, an interview is convened to ensure that a travel document is available. Travel arrangements are made and can be as simple as driving someone to the Canada-US border or as complicated as chartering a plane when a person cannot be removed by commercial airliner. Decisions are made on whether the person needs to be escorted and what routing to take. If the routing requires transit in a third country, the authorities in the transiting country need to be notified. Once removal arrangements have been made, the individual is ready for removal from Canada. All individuals who depart Canada voluntarily or who are removed must have their departure or removal confirmed by a delegated official under the IRPA. In many cases, this delegated authority has been passed on to security personnel contracted to the CBSA who perform the function of departure confirmation. A departure is confirmed once the individual has boarded the plane, and the official watches the plane depart the gate; or once the individual has entered the US through a land border. In both instances, the departure is acknowledged officially on the appropriate form by the security personnel, signed and dated and submitted to a CBSA officer for processing. Further information on Confirmation of Departure is found in Part 2, Section 2.3 “Departure Verification”.

CBSA Clientele

The CBSA categorizes clientele as detained or released. The CBSA may only detain individuals where there is a legislative ground to do so, as defined above. Individuals who do not require detention, are released from CBSA custody into the general population, and may be required to report back to the CBSA at a future date for their subsequent removal (where legislatively warranted). The Contractor will be liaising with individuals that fall under both the detained and released category, depending on the function/task being undertaken.