Canadian Asylum Law

Some interesting developments to our north.

Canada wants to alter its agreement with the U.S., which could potentially turn away thousands of refugees at its border. How has this come to pass, and what could this mean for refugees turning to what is historically one of the safer and more accommodating countries to those in need?

Ottawa has seen serious speculation that it wants to expand its agreement with Washington, which would enable it to turn away asylum seekers in the thousands. This could potentially be enforceable along all points of the shared border. {…}

Amnesty International Secretary General Alex Neve opposes the agreement because it says people can claim refuge in only the country of their initial arrival. Therefore, those arriving in the U.S. cannot bypass it to then move to Canada.

However, the loophole that has so far lent itself to asylum-seekers is that anyone already on Canadian soil can file for it. As such, the country has witnessed an increase in irregular movement of thousands of migrants across the border through snowy fields, ditches, and other unofficial points of entry. In fact, in 2017, over 20,000 asylum-seekers were met by police, the vast majority entering via Quebec.

Neve believes the STCA should be lifted because of the U.S.’s attitude toward refugee protection, commenting that the Trump administration has been especially detrimental to the conditions for asylum-seekers.