Saskatchewan ends agreement to hold immigration detainees for CBSA

The Saskatchewan government has ended an agreement to hold immigration detainees for the Canada Border Services Agency.

Christine Tell, Saskatchewan’s minister of corrections, policing and public safety, provided notice of the termination to the federal government in early April. Tell said the deal no longer aligns with the province’s goals around corrections.

“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 in a statement.

The agreement is to officially end on Sept. 30, and a transition plan is being developed.

The agreement dates back to 1994, when Saskatchewan originally signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to hold people detained under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

The provincial government said 16 individuals were held in Saskatchewan correctional facilities on matters related to the act in 2022. Fourteen were held in 2021, 19 in 2020, and 23 in 2019.

But while the agreement with the federal body will end, Saskatchewan will continue to hold some non-Canadians, under certain circumstances.

“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,” the ministry said in a statement.