Canada Proposes Stricter Immigration and Asylum Laws

A bill proposed by the Canadian government would limit some asylum claims and grant authorities more authority to interfere with immigration application procedures.

In her words, the goal of the Strong Borders Act is to decrease crime, illegal drugs and weapons and at the same time strengthen the security of the country’s immigration system. Some aspects of the bill would expand police authority to watch over the shared border with the US.

• New bill restricts asylum claims after 1 year in Canada
• Expands border, police, and mail search powers
• Aims to reduce crime, backlog, and system misuse

As well, it could disallow people who have been living in Canada for more than a year from claiming asylum. Critics complained that the bill which allows greater mail opening and searching by authorities, might violate personal rights. The pressures being put on Canada which normally accepts many immigrants, are causing the proposed legislation to limit immigration temporarily.

The previous government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used high levels of immigration to encourage economic growth and saw many more temporary workers and students moving to Canada. At the same time, Canada had an increase in asylum claims that made it take up to two years to process some cases because there was such a backlog.

Also Read: Canada: G7 to focus on stability and growth

Mark Carney, now Prime Minister after winning April’s election, has promised to fix Canada’s “unsustainable” immigration system.

Right now, refugees can come to Canada seeking asylum by showing up at an airport or any other port of entry or once they are already within the country, without needing to announce their purpose within any set period. The new policy takes away asylum rights from those in Canada for over a year which could ultimately lead to their deportation.

Under the Safe Third Country Agreement which asks migrants seeking asylum to claim in the first secure country they enter, they must file in Canada within two weeks for it to be processed. Even if someone fails to meet the deadline, the risk of sending them away is still assessed by looking at their current safety. The government is allowed to put all new applications on hold if it is necessary for public health or national security. The plan would also allow the government to look through mail as part of certain criminal investigations.