CBSA to begin tracking family separation

Weeks after Radio-Canada told the story ofan asylum seekerwho was separated from his two children after crossing the Canada-U.S. border, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says it will monitor the practice.

In December, Radio-Canada reported that at least 182 children had been separated from a parent detainedat an immigration holding facility in Laval, Que.,in 2019 alone, despite a CBSA directive prohibiting family separation in most cases.

• Children, parents separated on arrival despite CBSA directive

The storyalso revealed CBSA doesn't collect its own data onfamily separation, but CBSA says that gap is about to be fixed.

"The Agency intends to capture statistics nationally on minors being separated from at least one parent," a CBSA spokespersonconfirmed in an email. The decision was made in light of revelations in the Radio-Canada story.

If the government is separating children from their parents,I think it has to at least keep a close eye on its own practices.- Jenny Jeanes, Action Rfugis Montral

The advocacy group Action Rfugis Montral started keeping its own tally when it realized theCBSA wasn't always following a 2017national directive for the detention or housing of minors, whichforbids agentsfrom separating or detaining families except in extremely rarecircumstances.

Action Rfugis Montral's research is limited to the Montreal area but CBSA has two other immigration holding centres in Toronto and Surrey, B.C.

CBSA said it intends to start collecting national data this spring, and will make the results available on its website.

"It is very good news," said Jenny Jeanes of Action Rfugis Montral. "To have numbers, to have greater transparency, is fundamental.If the government is separating children from their parents,I think it has to at least keep a close eye on its own practices."

But for Jeanes, it's only a first step. Above all, she wants the national directive, which emphasizeschildren's well-being and family unity, to be respected.

But Public Safety MinisterBill Blair, who'sresponsible for CBSA, said the agency is already doing that.

"There are instances in which individuals must be detained for legitimate reasons, including, for example, while their identity is being determined or verified,"wrote the minister's office in an email to Radio-Canada.

"In an instance in which an individual must be detained, it is often in the best interest of the child to be out of detention with one parent instead of being placed in immigration detention with both parents."

In some cases, children can also be handed over to relatives, friends or youth protection services.