Borders Kill, CBSA Negligence Kills: Vigil and Collective Mourning in Honour of the Person who Died at the Laval Migrant Prison
Sunday February 13, 2022
12:30pm
In front of the CBSA Office
1010 Saint Antoine West
Metro Bonaventure
https://www.facebook.com/events/364411821828342/
With much sadness and rage, on January 30th, we learned that another person died at the Laval migrant prison. We don’t have any information about the person who lost their life or the circumstances of their death- only that they were criminalized for who they were as a migrant. One week before, a family froze to death while crossing the border in Manitoba. Both of these tragedies demonstrate clearly: Borders kill. CBSA negligence kills.
Over the past 20 years, there have been at least 15 known deaths in CBSA custody- some due to suicide, some due to physical restraint, and others due to atrocious neglect. These deaths are emblematic of the violence of the Canadian immigration system. Far from an exceptional measure, detention serves to facilitate deportation and punish migrants for fleeing situations of poverty, violence and exploitation. The fear of detention also forces migrants to live on the margins and confines them to exploitative and unsafe working conditions and is one of the reasons that compels migrants and refugees to take even more dangerous, costly, and precarious routes to get to Canada.
Join us for a vigil outside the CBSA Offices to mourn this death and to honour all migrants who fight for their lives and their dignity in the face of a violent, unjust immigration system.
Not one more deportation, not one more detention, not one more death! No more prisons, status for all!