Canada's Border Service Agency (CBSA) said Monday it will improve translation services at international airports after a Polish immigrant was Tasered by police and died at Vancouver airport last month.
CBSA president Alain Jolicoeur said that an internal review has urged changes in how officials receive international travelers.
"I assure you that the CBSA is committed to implementing these recommendations without delay here at the Vancouver airport, and at other international airports as appropriate," he told a press conference in Ottawa.
He said the agency will ensure interpreter services are readily available and keep track of which employees speak foreign languages.
It will also extend the coverage of surveillance cameras in the area under the control of the CBSA.
Forty-year-old Robert Dziekanski arrived in Canada on Oct. 13 to live with his mother. Because he did not speak English and could not communicate with officials at the airport, he was held there for at least six hours and became agitated. He was later Tasered by police and died.
The incident caused a furor throughout Canada, with the public raising questions not only about Taser use by police, but how Dziekanski came to be stuck there for so long and why there was apparently no language assistance available.
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day requested the border agency conduct an internal review. The province of British Columbia is also undertaking a public inquiry.
Source:Xinhua
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