Canadian bill seeks to deny hearings to some asylum-seekers
FILE PHOTO: A group of asylum seekers claiming to be from Haiti take their luggage out of a taxi as they arrive near a checkpoint on Roxham Road near Hemmingford, Quebec, Canada April 24, 2022. Picture taken April 24, 2022. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi/File Photo
TORONTO (Reuters) -A Canadian border-security bill introduced by the Liberal government earlier this week may deny some asylum-seekers a refugee hearing and make it easier for the government to revoke migrants' status.
The bill comes as the government seeks to address U.S. concerns about its border security and reduce the number of migrants in the country.In addition to denying some refugee hearings and allowing the suspension, cancellation or variance of immigration documents, the bill facilitates sharing people's information and makes it easier to read people's mail, among other measures.
President Donald Trump has said Canada had failed to do enough to stem the flow of illicit fentanyl into the U.S., using that as justification for some of his tariffs. This week Trump doubled the tariffs in place on steel and aluminum, prompting calls for Canada to boost retaliatory measures of its own. Late last year Canada pledged C$1.3 billion to beef up its border.
As Canada reduces the number of new permanent and temporary residents, its refugee system faces a historic backlog of more than 280,000 cases.
This week's bill follows through on some of those border promises as well as on suggestions from some top ministers that Canada would fast-track refusals for some refugee claims.
If the bill passes, asylum-seekers who have been in Canada more than one year would not be eligible for refugee hearings.
Instead, they would have access to a pre-removal risk assessment, meant to determine whether they would be in danger in their country of origin. According to data published by Canada's Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Department, 30% of pre-removal risk assessments in 2019 for people deemed ineligible for refugee hearings were approved; by contrast, according to Immigration and Refugee Board data, that year 60% of finalized refugee hearings were approved.
Asylum-seekers who wait two weeks to file claims after crossing from the U.S. to avoid being turned back under a bilateral agreement would also not get hearings.
The bill, which needs to go through multiple readings before the House of Commons votes on it and sends it to the Senate, would also allow the government to "cancel, suspend or vary" immigration documents if deemed in the public interest.
Migrant and refugee advocates worry the changes could leave vulnerable people deported to dangerous situations in their home countries without adequate due process.
A spokesperson for Canada's Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said on Wednesday that the government recognizes the conditions in people's home countries may change, but the pre-removal risk assessment will prevent them from being returned to persecution or torture.
"The asylum ineligibilities introduced yesterday seek to maintain protection for those fleeing danger while discouraging misuse that bypasses the asylum system's function – which is to protect the vulnerable," the spokesperson wrote in an email.
"Canada is reneging on its basic human rights obligations to do individual arbitration," said Migrant Rights Network spokesperson Syed Hussan.
"This is teeing up a deportation machine."
(Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny; editing by Diane Craft)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Analysis-NATO's dilemma: how Zelenskiy can attend summit without provoking Trump
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Officials organising a NATO summit in The Hague this month are expected to keep it short, restrict discussion of Ukraine, and choreograph meetings so that Volodymyr Zelenskiy can somehow be in town without provoking Donald Trump. Though the Ukrainian president is widely expected to attend the summit in some form, NATO has yet to confirm whether he is actually invited. Diplomats say he may attend a pre-summit dinner but be kept away from the main summit meeting. Whether the brief summit statement will even identify Russia as a threat or express support for Ukraine is still up in the air. The careful steps are all being taken to avoid angering Washington, much less provoking any repeat of February's White House blow-up between Trump and Zelenskiy that almost torpedoed the international coalition supporting Kyiv. NATO's European members, who see Russia as an existential threat and NATO as the principal means of countering it, want to signal their continued strong support for Ukraine. But they are also desperate to avoid upsetting a volatile Trump, who stunned them at a summit seven years ago by threatening to quit the alliance altogether. If Zelenskiy does not attend in some form, it would be "at least a PR disaster", acknowledged a senior NATO diplomat. Since Russia's invasion three years ago, Zelenskiy has regularly attended NATO summits as the guest of honour, where alliance members pledged billions in weapons and condemned Russia for an illegal war of conquest. Leaders repeatedly promised that Ukraine would one day join NATO. But since Washington's shift under Trump towards partly accepting Russia's justifications for the war and disparaging Zelenskiy, the 32-member alliance no longer speaks with a single voice about Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. Trump has taken Ukraine's NATO membership off the table, unilaterally granting Moscow one of its main demands. After dressing down Zelenskiy in the Oval Office in February, Trump cut vital U.S. military and intelligence support for Ukraine for days. Since then, the two men publicly mended fences in a meeting in St Peter's Basilica for the funeral of Pope Francis. But mostly they have spoken remotely, with Zelenskiy twice phoning the White House on speakerphone while surrounded by four friendly Europeans -- Britain's Keir Starmer, France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Friedrich Merz and Poland's Donald Tusk. SPENDING BOOST Trump is expected to come away from The Hague with a big diplomatic victory as NATO members heed his longstanding complaints that they do not spend enough on defence and agree a much higher target. They are expected to boost their goal for traditional military spending to 3.5% of economic output from 2%. A further pledge to spend 1.5% on related expenses such as infrastructure and cyber defence would raise the total to 5% demanded by Trump. But the summit itself and its accompanying written statement are expected to be unusually short, minimising the chances of flare-ups or disagreements. A pledge to develop recommendations for a new Russia strategy has been kicked into the long grass. Meanwhile, Zelenskiy may have to be content with an invitation to a pre-summit dinner, hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander, diplomats say. Unlike at NATO's previous two annual summits, the leaders do not plan to hold a formal meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, the official venue for talks between the alliance and Kyiv. The senior NATO diplomat said a working dinner with either foreign ministers or defence ministers could instead serve as an NUC. 'PROPERLY REPRESENTED' On Wednesday, NATO boss Mark Rutte said he had invited Ukraine to the summit, but sidestepped a question on whether the invitation included Zelenskiy himself. After meeting Rutte on Monday, Zelenskiy said on X that it was "important that Ukraine is properly represented" at the summit. "That would send the right signal to Russia," he said. U.S. and Ukrainian officials did not reply to questions about the nature of any invitation to Ukraine. Some European countries are still willing to say in public that they hope to see Zelenskiy invited as the head of the Ukrainian delegation. Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said he would like to see a "delegation led by President Zelenskiy". Asked about an invitation for Zelenskiy, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said "I, for my part, strongly welcome the invitation" without giving further details. But diplomats have tried to play down the importance of the formal status of Zelenskiy's role: "Many allies want to have Zelenskiy at the summit, but there is flexibility on the precise format that would allow his presence," said a second senior NATO diplomat. A senior European diplomat said: "We should not get stuck on 'NUC or no NUC'. If he comes to the leaders' dinner, that would be the minimum." (Additional reporting by by Lidia KellyEditing by Peter Graff)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Students in rebel-held eastern Congo brave insecurity to take exams
FILE PHOTO: Students return home from classes at the Mama Mulezi school complex, after M23 rebels announced the reopening of schools and universities, in Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, February 11, 2025. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of secondary school students sat for state exams in rebel-held eastern Congo this week, a complicated logistical feat requiring rare cooperation between the government and M23 rebels. The Rwanda-backed insurgents seized eastern Congo's two largest cities in an offensive earlier this year and are now trying to show they can govern. African leaders along with Washington and Doha are meanwhile trying to broker a peace deal that would put an end to a conflict with roots in the Rwandan genocide more than three decades ago. The state exams, administered across the sprawling central African country for students hoping to go to university, began on Monday and will continue through mid-June. Administering them throughout the east of Democratic Republic of Congo required having education officials personally escort documents and other materials from the capital Kinshasa into M23-held cities and towns. "We were among those who went to Kinshasa to collect the items," said Jean-Marie Mwayesi, an education official in South Kivu province, where M23 claims considerable territory. "Thanks to the combined efforts of our teams and partners, all 111 centres we cover have been served." President Felix Tshisekedi's government announced last month it was waiving exam fees - which normally exceed $40 - for students in North and South Kivu provinces, citing insecurity. While M23 has previously said it seeks the ouster of Tshisekedi's government, the group's leader Bertrand Bisimwa told Reuters that it still recognised Kinshasa as the administrator of national exams. "Our presence in the eastern part of our country does not make this a separate country," Bisimwa said. "The education of our children is apolitical. It must be protected against any political divergence because we all work for the interest and well-being of our children." Human rights groups have repeatedly accused M23 of executing civilians including children - allegations the group has denied. Exauce Katete was among the students who sat for exams at a school in the South Kivu regional capital Bukavu, which fell under M23 control in February and where insecurity including vigilante violence has increased since then. "Yes, security is there. I can still see a few people outside, responsible for keeping us safe. There are no disturbances, no noise, everything is going well," Katete said, referring to plainclothes officers positioned by M23 outside the school. Mwayesi, the local education official, said that of 44,000 students who registered in his zone, nearly 42,000 showed up, speculating that the remainder may have been displaced by fighting. (Reporting by Congo newsroom; additional reporting by Sonia Rolley; writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; editing by Mark Heinrich)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Six-year-old girl among Myanmar group arrested for killing retired general
(Reuters) -Myanmar's military has arrested a six-year-old child as part of a group it labelled "terrorists" for the daytime killing of a retired military officer and diplomat last month, a junta-run newspaper reported on Friday. Cho Htun Aung, 68, a retired brigadier general who also served as an ambassador, was shot dead in Myanmar's commercial capital of Yangon on May 22, in one of the highest profile assassinations in a country in the throes of a widening civil war. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup, overthrowing an elected government led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and triggering widespread protests. The junta's violent crackdown on dissent sparked an unprecedented nationwide uprising. A collection of established ethnic armies and new armed groups have wrested away swathes of territory from the well-armed military, and guerrilla-style fighting has erupted even in urban areas like Yangon. "A total of 16 offenders - 13 males and three females - were arrested," the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported. In an accompanying graphic, the newspaper carried the image of the six-year-old child, identified as the daughter of the alleged assassin. Her face was blurred in an online version of the newspaper seen by Reuters, but visible in other social media posts made by junta authorities. A junta spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment. Golden Valley Warriors, an anti-junta insurgent group, said they killed the retired general because of his continued support for military operations, including attacks on civilians, according to a May 22 statement. The junta claims the group is backed by the National Unity Government - a shadow government comprising of remnants of Suu Kyu's ousted administration that is battling the military - and paid an assassin some 200,000 Myanmar Kyat ($95.52) for a killing, the state newspaper reported. NUG spokesperson Nay Phone Latt denied the shadow government had made any such payments. "It is not true that we are paying people to kill other people," he told Reuters. Since the coup, Myanmar's junta has arrested over 29,000 people, including more than 6,000 women and 600 children, according to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, an activist group. Fatalities among civilians and pro-democracy activists verified by AAPP during this period amount to more than 6,700, including 1,646 women and 825 children. Myanmar's junta has said it does not target civilians and its operations are in response to attacks by "terrorists" for maintaining peace and stability in the country. ($1 = 2,093.7000 kyat) (Reporting by Reuters Staff, Editing by Devjyot Ghoshal)
