The applicant, a foreign national subject to a removal order, applied for habeas corpus after being detained in a maximum security provincial jail for over four years pending removal.
The court found that while the length of detention was exceptional, its duration was not uncertain because the applicant's recent cooperation provided a reasonable prospect for removal, thus not violating sections 7 and 9 of the Charter.
However, the court held that detaining the applicant in a maximum security facility with frequent lockdowns, rather than an immigration holding centre, was grossly disproportionate to his flight risk and constituted cruel and unusual treatment under section 12 of the Charter.
The court ordered his immediate transfer to an immigration holding centre.
