“MR SCOTLAND IS being held in prison for no real reason at all.”
This was the declaration of Ontario Superior Court Judge Edward Morgan, speaking about the prolonged detention of Barbadian Ricardo Scotland, who has been in a Niagara maximum security jail for the past 18 months. Scotland has no criminal record and is not considered dangerous to society.
Yesterday, Morgan ordered Scotland freed and was emphatic in his criticism of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), saying that “although the government cannot provide a clear rationale for Mr Scotland’s initial or continued detention the reason for this lack of clarity is itself clear to me: there is no rationale”.
Scotland, who is father to a 13-year-old daughter, had languished in a Canadian immigration detention jail in Thorold Ontario for about 18 months while Canada’s federal authorities try to deport him to Barbados. This is despite the fact that he hasn’t been convicted of a crime and is seeking refugee status to remain permanently in the country. Scotland had faced criminal charges four years ago but the proceedings were stayed, meaning no conviction. (TB)
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