From increased police power to stricter immigration, here's what's in the new border bill

Globe and Mail

2 days ago

The federal government tabled a bill on June 3 that would significantly limit who can pursue refugee claims in Canada while giving officials the power to cancel immigration applications en masse.
The bill is 127 pages long and includes a wide scope of legislation that gives Canada Post the authority to open people's mail, expands the Coast Guard's powers to conduct helicopter searches and cracks down on money laundering.
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People who claim asylum after living more than a year in Canada would not have their case considered by the Immigration and Refugee Board, and instead face deportation. But they would be offered a risk assessment first, so claimants wouldn't be removed to places deemed unsafe, including war zones such as Gaza or Ukraine.
Sharing information – such as identity and status and immigration documentation – across provinces and territories, federal departments and different Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) programs would be authorized and made easier.
There would be a clamp-down on those exploiting a provision in the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States. Under the agreement, people must claim asylum in the first country they arrive in, meaning that most are sent back to the U.S. if they arrive at the Canadian border. But that rule does not apply to anyone who has been in Canada for 14 days.
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The bill would change the rules to require people to claim asylum within 14 days. After that, claimants would not receive a hearing and instead be subject to deportation. Such claimants would also be entitled to a risk assessment by IRCC before being deported.
The government would be allowed to immediately pause or cancel the processing of immigration applications, including en masse, for example if evidence of widespread fraud emerged.
It also proposes streamlining the immigration process, simplifying the online application process and speeding up processing times.
The bill would boost the role of the Coast Guard, by giving it the ability to conduct security patrols using helicopters and boats, and to share its findings with security, defence and intelligence agencies.
It would give police more power to search mail, while expanding the authority of Canada Post to open people's letters.
Police and intelligence services would receive enhanced power to access electronic information, in some cases without a warrant granted by a court. The bill would compel electronic service providers to hand over information or communications that supports law enforcement and CSIS in criminal and intelligence investigations.
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The bill also enhances the ability of law enforcement to share information about sex offenders both in Canada and abroad, including the U.S.
To hamper the smuggling of drugs and other illicit goods, such as stolen cars, the bill would compel warehouse operators and transport companies to give Canadian border agents access to inspect goods destined for export. Currently, border agents can only check imports to Canada.
The bill proposes expanding the minister of health's powers to stop the flow of fentanyl and illicit drugs, alongside the expanded powers of law enforcement. The health minister would be allowed to clamp down on the illicit drug trade including precursor chemicals used to produce fentanyl.
The bill includes a number of measures aimed at disrupting money laundering in Canada. Among them is a ban on businesses other than financial institutions accepting cash payments of $10,000 or more. The new legislation also introduces significant increases to the fines that companies can face for failures in their anti-money-laundering controls.
Migrant Rights Network spokesperson Syed Hussan expressed alarm at the changes, saying they would drastically restrict protections for refugees and immigrants.
'We're witnessing the deliberate expansion of a mass deportation machine designed to tear apart families and communities,' he said.
NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan told reporters that the bill could drive people whose visa applications have been cancelled or asylum claims unheard to live underground without documents. She also raised privacy concerns about proposals in the bill to allow government departments – including the immigration department – to share people's personal information.
'I'm very concerned that those who have submitted claims in the immigration system will, all of a sudden, find their application being withdrawn,' she added.
Immigration lawyer Zool Suleman said the information-sharing proposal poses a threat to the civil liberties of all Canadians.
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'Everybody thinks they have nothing to hide. You'd be amazed at how much we do want to hide in terms of the personal lives that we lead in this country and that we have a right to lead in the country,' he said.
'The real issue is that the government should not be delving into your private life unless they have cause. And so what this bill is really doing is threatening the civil liberties of everybody in Canada.'
Michael Geist, the University of Ottawa's Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, said measures to compel electronic service providers such as Rogers or Bell to provide information to the police and CSIS raise serious privacy concerns.
He predicted that the bill could make electronic service providers such as Microsoft, Google or Meta produce information about their subscribers. He said the Supreme Court had knocked back previous attempts to gain access to such data without a warrant.
'The government has tried to bury this within a broader border bill to make it more immune to removal or amendment, which is troubling,' he said.
The proposed legislation is the latest federal announcement designed to beef up the border with the United States after complaints from President Donald Trump that Canada has not done enough to stop illegal crossings and combat fentanyl smuggling, even though border agency data suggests only a tiny fraction of the drug in the U.S. comes from Canada. Mr. Trump has used those claims to justify tariffs on Canadian goods.
Prime Minister Carney promised during the spring election campaign to address 'unsustainable' immigration levels and the Throne Speech said the government would restore 'balance to the system.'
The government has been trying to cut the backlog in immigration and refugee applications and is reducing the number of permanent and temporary residents being admitted to Canada.
Roxham Road in Quebec became a focal point for the immigration debate during the first Donald Trump presidency, with thousands of people claiming asylum after crossing the Canadian border onto the small rural road, about 50 kilometres south of Montreal.
More recently, the government has reported an increase in the number of international students making asylum claims when their visas expire.
With reports from Marie Woolf, Stefanie Marotta, Alexandra Posadzki and the Canadian Press.