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...Dear friends and supporters,
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) wields extraordinary power in Canada.
At the borders, CBSA officers have a wider range of powers than police. They can take breath and blood samples and even arrest non-citizens without a warrant.
And yet, there is no independent oversight or review body to hold CBSA accountable. If someone is harmed or dies in CBSA custody, there is no independent investigation.
The CBSA is allowed to
act with impunity. We need your support to ensure this glaring gap in accountability is urgently addressed.
In partnership with allies, we have spent years advocating for CBSA accountability. Finally, the federal government introduced a law this May to bring the CBSA under the same independent oversight body as the RCMP. However, the bill made it only to second reading in the Senate before the election, and consequently did not become law.
With the return of Parliament, we will continue to hold the government to account to not only reintroduce this legislation, but to improve it. Oversight will not be enough to address longstanding issues with the agency, particularly its practice of detaining immigrants indefinitely in correctional facilities, and its use of solitary confinement.
Thank you so much for your dedicated support. Because of your generosity, we can fight tirelessly for civil liberties and human rights across the country.
Sincerely,
Maggie Knight
Acting Executive Director