ONTARIO, Canada--For the first time in more than four years, Barbadian Ricardo Scotland is looking forward to seeing his teenage daughter and eating a meal with his family.
Scotland was denied those normal privileges as he was being held behind bars in a maximum-security facility at an immigration detention centre in Canada for the last 10 months. In total, he had spent a total of 18 months in detention over a two-year period.
Monday, he was granted his freedom by Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Morgan who declared that he had been incarcerated for “no real reason.”
In his ruling, Justice Morgan said Scotland was unable to get out of custody because he had been caught “in an endless circuit of mistakes and unproven accusations” that had been made by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB).
“Nobody knew why he was detained,” Justice Morgan said, describing Scotland’s imprisonment as oppressive and nightmarish.
Scotland has no criminal record, but he was detained by the CBSA as a flight risk while his refugee claim was being processed, based on alleged breaches of conditions related to criminal charges that were later stayed by the Crown. One of those alleged breaches – or what the judge described as faux breaches – was that he failed to notify the CBSA about a change of address after his arrest.
However, Scotland did call the CBSA to notify them he’d been arrested after the police raided his home, but no one picked up, the judge noted.
In any case, Justice Morgan questioned: “What rational person would conceive of police custody prior to receiving bail as a change of address?”
Scotland’s lawyer Subodh Bharati said the case should serve as wake-up call for scores of immigrants who have been detained by Canadian authorities.
“I hope people realise what happens to people who aren’t Canadians in terms of immigration detention.
“Sadly, Scotland is not alone. Dozens of immigration detainees have applied to the Superior courts for a writ of habeas corpus – a remedy to determine if a person’s detention is lawful,” he said.
Scotland (38) and his 13-year-old daughter, who applied for their refugee status in December 2010, will now have their refugee hearing on September 22. ~ Caribbean360 ~
