A discussion about refugees and foreign policy was conspicuously absent in Monday’s election debate, despite leaders’ conflicting views about these topics.
Its absence was especially notable given Friday’s country-wide rallies protesting immigration “holding centres,” which imprison non-violent detainees waiting for their immigration papers to be processed. An investigation by the Toronto Star found that 1,500 such detainees were held in maximum security jails in Canada in 2018.
Currently, 70 million people are displaced due to climate change and political conflict, which will have inevitable consequences for Canada. With 7,000 detainees being held in the country on average each year, the ethics conversation is an important one.