TORONTO – A group advocating for full immigration status for all migrants says more than 50 immigration detainees began refusing food Monday in two Ontario centres.
The End Immigration Detention Network says the detainees are protesting prison conditions that include increasing lockdowns and the use of solitary confinement, and are calling for an end to indefinite detentions in maximum security prisons.
The immigration detainees are asking for a meeting with Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to discuss their concerns. A spokesman for Goodale says the minister is working on issues related to detention and hopes to put forward proposals later this year.
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Those taking part in the protest are housed at the maximum security Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ont., and the Toronto East Detention Centre.
The End Immigration Detention Network says immigration detainees previously went on a hunger strike that began on April 21, and met with officials from Canada Border Services Agency.
But the group says CBSA has not followed through on promises it made and the detainees have begun the new hunger strike – this time calling for a meeting with elected officials.