Harsha Walia and Syed Hussan

http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/10/02/harsha-walia-and-syed-hussan-electronic-monitoring-not-an-alternative-to-immigration-detention/

A coroner’s inquiry is taking place in Vancouver this week on Lucia Vega Jimenez’s suicide in Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) custody.

Immigration detainees are also on strike in Ontario, and a Red Cross investigation of CBSA facilities – described as dungeons by some lawyers – has just come to light. The Red Cross found over-crowding, inadequate mental health supports, a lack of support for detained children, and presence of mold in detention cells. Many of these shortcomings constitute a failure to comply with national and international standards.

For the first time in a long time, immigration detention is getting the scrutiny it deserves. In response, CBSA is trying to change tracks. Its most recent move is introducing the idea of electronic monitoring systems as an alternative to immigration detention.

As community members that work closely with immigration detainees, we believe electronic monitoring is not a just alternative to immigrant detention.

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by Harsha Walia

http://rabble.ca/columnists/2014/09/death-and-despair-canadas-migrant-dungeons

One month after the death of 42-year-old hotel worker and Mexican migrant Lucia Vega Jimenez in Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) custody, I received a call from a young Haitian woman at the same prison Lucia had been in. Unlike most detainees, she did not call to ask for legal advice to fight for her release, nor was she seeking support to stop her deportation. She called to ask me if I could find information on preventing the spread of infection. She had just miscarried.

One month after Lucia’s death, another migrant death in detention.

A coroner’s inquest into the death of Lucia is scheduled to begin today. Lucia was found hanging in detention cells at the Vancouver International Airport — what has been referred to as a dungeon — nine months ago. Lucia’s death was kept secret by CBSA for over a month, until community groups revealed the information to media and called for an independent investigation. (These same community groups are now being shut out of the inquest, much like the process of the Missing Women’s Inquiry).

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Wednesday October 15th from 6:00-8:00
YWCA 733 Beatty St, Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territories
RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/1469256423338435/

Every day in the Greater Vancouver area, at various skytrain stations and bus stops, transit police check fares and issue tickets. And every day, some of those people who cannot show proof of purchase are reported to Canada Border Services Agency.

Three hundred and twenty eight people were reported to CBSA by Transit Police last year, one-in-five of whom faced a subsequent immigration investigation. One of these people was Lucia Vega Jiménez, who later committed suicide in a detention center.
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Community dinner and meeting to discuss updates from the Yuct Ne Senxiymetkwe Camp and first hand accounts from the Mount Polley disaster

October 6 Community dinner at 6:30, Speakers start at 7:00

Grandview Calvary Baptist Church – 1803 East 1st Ave, Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories

Kanahus Manuel with other speakers to be announced soon

Free of charge. Dinner and Childcare also provided! Accessibility information below.

On August 4th, the tailings pond at the open pit Imperial Metals mine at Mount Polley breached, spewing 14.5 million cubic meters of tailings waste containing Arsenic, Nickel, Zinc, Cadmium, Cobalt, Phosphorus, Lead, Copper, Mercury and Selenium, which was spilled into nearby Hazeltine Creek, contaminating it, Polley Lake and Quesnel Lake.

This is one of the largest global mining disasters ever to occur.

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A BC Coroners inquest into the tragic and shameful death of Lucia Vega Jimenez is beginning on Monday September 29th and continues till Friday October 3rd.

The community, including a coalition of eight immigrant, refugee and Latin American community groups, has been SHUT OUT of this inquest.

We invite the community for a delegation on the first day of the inquest as well an evening rally to gather and renew our calls and commitment for justice.

PRESS CONFERENCE AND DELEGATION
Monday September 29th at 8:30 am
Burnaby Coroners Court, MetroTower II. Easiest way to find it is adjacent to skytrain station take the Central Blvd entrance to the Mall, right by the open plaza area.

RALLY AND VIGIL
Tuesday September 30th at 6:30 pm
CIC offices, 300 West Georgia, near VPL.

Lucia Vega Jimenez was a 42-year Mexican hotel worker who died while under Canadian Border Service Agency’s custody in December 2013 after being turned over to immigration authorities by TransLink police. Just prior to her scheduled deportation to Mexico, she hung herself in cells at the Vancouver International Airport. She died eight days later, on December 28, 2013. Lucia’s death was kept secret by CBSA and pubic officials for over a month.
Community members uncovered this horrific tragedy and sounded the alarm to media. Lucia’s death sparked national outrage. A petition by community groups with over 8,688 signatures calls for a full, transparent and independent civilian inquiry and investigation. The petition also calls for independent civilian oversight and a comprehensive review of migrant detention policies.
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