A petition with more than 7,000 signatures calling for an independent investigation into the death of a Mexican national at Vancouver International Airport was hand-delivered to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) yesterday.
In December 2013, Lucia Jimenez was in CBSA custody awaiting deportation when she hung herself. Eight days later she died in hospital after the attempt and officials have released very few details surrounding Jimenez’s death.
An emotional plea for “no more deaths” and Jimenez deserving justice was made by Karla Lottini, a former Mexican journalist, in the hallway of the CBSA offices last night.
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“If this were any other police force in B.C. there would have been immediate disclosure and an immediate independent public investigation,” Josh Paterson, BC Civil Liberties Association, said.
“Why should it be any different for CBSA? The answer is, that it shouldn’t, they wield incredible powers and they should be held to a high standard of accountability.”
According to Doug King with the Pivot Legal Society, the Minister of Justice and security services have “said almost nothing about this incident” and that they don’t know if the guards involved are being investigated or if they’ll look at Genesis Security.
King says, “they’ve been given absolutely no direction” regarding the incident.
CBSA officials accepted the petition but had little to say regarding the matter.
Doug Park, assistant director at the CBSA, said they’re unable to comment since the matter is before the B.C. Coroners Service but that they will take the petition and make sure it gets to the appropriate person(s) within the agency.
The B.C. Coroners Service is investigating the death of Jimenez and it’s still unclear whether there will be an inquest.
~ with files from Catherine Urquhart
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