There is, and we want to get rid of that as much as possible.
The reason for detention is really only in three particular cases. One is when there is a real problem in identifying who the person is. Identification is obviously a critical factor in assessing safety considerations. Often CBSA is not able, with the information available to them, to precisely identify the individual. If there's an identification issue, if there is a flight risk, or if there is a serious risk to the public, then detention becomes an alternative that CBSA can consider as a last resort. The problem with the circumstances of the past and up to now is that there aren't very many other resorts to consider, so detention too often becomes the default mechanism.
We want to improve the three facilities to make sure they can handle more people in a better way and take the reliance off the provincial correctional facilities. Also, we want to make sure that in those federal holding centres the appropriate mental health and physical health services are available, that legal counselling and other counselling is available, and that inspections can be done by the Red Cross and by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, as and when necessary, at their discretion. We also want to make sure that there are other physical alternatives to detention. We're discussing with a whole variety of immigrant support organizations what those alternatives might be.
The Toronto bail program, for example, has been used as a good example of what an alternative might look like. There may be electronic means, voice identification, or new technology that could be of assistance. CBSA officers will have a broader array of alternatives to look at to keep the public safe and to make sure that the people who are in the circumstances of detention are dealt with in a proper and humane way. When it comes to children, as much as possible we want to eliminate that altogether.