Solidarity with the hunger-strikers in immigration detention

Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety - ps.ministerofpublicsafety-ministredelasecuritepublique.sp@canada.ca

Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship - Minister@cic.gc.ca

Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health - Patty.Hajdu@parl.gc.ca

Dear Ministers,

Wellness Within: An Organization for Health and Justice (WW) is a registered non-profit organization in Nova Scotia that provides support, education and advocacy with criminalized women who are pregnant or parenting young children. WW has become a leading voice for reproductive and prison justice in Nova Scotia.

WW stands with Solidarity Across Borders and hunger striking prisoners being held in immigration detention in Laval, QC and is calling for the immediate release of all migrant prisoners in light of COVID-19 for the duration of the pandemic. WW worked hard just last week with other organizations for the release of many prisoners who were being held in Nova Scotia's correctional facilities in an effort to reduce crowded conditions in our jails. Living conditions in detention do not allow for proper social distancing and other recommended public health measures that would ensure the safety of prisoners. Moreover, incarceration puts detainees at higher risk of infection.