Certified Immigration Consultant Marwa Badra: Indefinite detention in Canada is part of an upcoming TV show called Not Wanted In Canada. A taste:
Michael, an African man in his mid-50s, is not exactly wasting away, and he’s one of hundreds, not thousands, being detained in a cell. He has, however, been locked up for 8 ½ years, in conditions he calls “horrible,” because the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is not convinced his real name is Michael Mvogo, nor that his native country is Cameroon. (And Cameroon doesn’t want him.)
As of mid-January, 66 other “inadmissibles” have been detained for longer than a year. One man has been in custody for 10 years.
Michael can’t “just…leave Canada” anytime he wants. There are cells, guards and walls to make sure he doesn’t, at least until authorities are satisfied that he is who he says he is, and another country will accept him. Until then, he’s an unwilling guest of the Canadian taxpayer, at a cost of $239 a day.
Very controversial indeed. I agree that CBSA had reasonable reasons to detain Michael, but indefinite detention is by far unfair. It sounds to me that his prolonged detention is merely because officers don’t know what to do with him. In my view he can be released with terms and conditions that guarantee his whereabouts and that he is being a law abiding member of society.