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offence” (murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and aggravated sexual assault), the burden
lies on the young person to show why an adult offence should not be imposed, otherwise the
Crown will have to show why an adult sentence should be imposed. Youth sentences are
generally non-custodial.
6. Administrative detention under immigration law
(a)
Detention of migrants and asylum-seekers
34.
Until December 2003 the federal Department of Citizenship and Immigration, which has
the general competence for migration and asylum matters, was also responsible for immigration
detention (which includes the detention of asylum-seekers). Since then this responsibility has
been assigned to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), an agency created in 2002 within
the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. The decision to order
immigration detention accordingly now lies with CBSA officers. Such decisions are subject to
review by a member of the Immigration Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board, an
independent administrative tribunal. Members of the Immigration and Refugee Board are civil
servants appointed by the Government for a term not exceeding seven years, subject to removal
at any time for just cause. They are eligible for reappointment upon expiry of their term.
35.
The legal framework for the administrative detention of aliens by the CBSA is outlined in
sections 55 to 61 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and sections 244 to 250
of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). This legal framework applies to
permanent residents, migrants and persons applying for refugee status in Canada, i.e. the IRPA
does not distinguish between refugees and asylum-seekers who have entered illegally or
overstayed their permit and other illegal aliens for the purposes of ordering detention. According
to the information gathered by the Working Group, in practice detention depends on the
availability of identity documents and, often, on whether or not the individuals have presented
themselves voluntarily to make a refugee claim or if the claim is made after they have been
apprehended by the authorities.
36.
Under section 55, an officer may detain a foreign national (including a permanent
resident) who the officer has “reasonable grounds to believe is inadmissible” and is either (a) a
danger to the public, or (b) unlikely to appear for examination, an admissibility hearing or
removal from Canada. A third ground for detention is that “the officer is not satisfied of the
identity of the foreign national in the course of any procedure” under IRPA.
37.
Within 48 hours after an alien is taken into custody, or without delay thereafter, the
detainee must be brought before the Immigration Division for a review of the reasons for
continued detention (sect. 57). If detention is confirmed at that stage, it must be reviewed again
within 7 days, and thereafter at least once during each 30-day period. There is no limit in the
IRPA to the overall length of detention. As detention engages Charter rights, however, the
jurisprudence has established that immigration detention without a reasonable prospect of
removal violates the right to liberty.
38.
The Immigration Division shall order release, unless “it is satisfied” that the detained
alien is either (a) a danger to the public, (b) unlikely to appear for the next hearing or removal,
(c) “the Minister is taking necessary steps to inquire into a reasonable suspicion” that the person