Canada proposes sweeping immigration and security bill

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - TORONTO — The Canadian government has proposed a bill to restrict some asylum claims and give authorities more power to halt the processing of immigration applications.

Canada's immigration minister Lena Diab said the Strong Borders Act is meant to curb organised crime and the flow of illegal drugs and weapons, while boosting the "integrity" of the country's immigration system.

It includes provisions that would give police more power to monitor Canada's shared border with the US.

It could also bar those who have been in Canada for more than year from filing a claim for asylum. But critics said the bill, which seeks to expand authorities' ability to open and inspect mail, would breach civil liberties.

The proposed legislation comes amid increasing pressure on Canada, which has historically been open to newcomers, to restrict immigration as the country deals with strained public services and a housing crisis.

The previous government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau relied on ambitious immigration targets to fuel economic growth, and oversaw a sharp increase in people entering Canada as temporary workers and students.

At the same time, Canada saw a spike in asylum claims, with applicants waiting up to two years for their case to be heard due to the backlog.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, who won April's federal election, has promised to address Canada's "unsustainable" immigration levels.

Under current law, refugees can claim asylum in Canada either when they arrive at a port of entry, like an airport, or when they are already in Canada, with no restrictions on how long they can be in the country before claiming asylum.

The new rules would bar asylum claims from those who have been in Canada for over a year, potentially making them subject to deportation.

They would also require people entering Canada from the US under the Safe Third Country Agreement — a long-standing deal requiring migrants to seek asylum in the first "safe" country they reach, whether it is the US or Canada — to file a claim in Canada within 14 days for it to be considered.

Those who fail to adhere to those deadlines would still be able to undergo a risk assessment that would determine whether their safety is at risk if they are sent away.

The law also gives the government power to outright suspend processing new applications "for matters of public health and national security."

The wide-ranging 127-page measure would also expand the government's power to open mail to advance a criminal investigation.

And it would introduce restrictions on cash transactions above C$10,000 ($7,300; £5,400) and cash deposits by one individual into another's account.

Jenny Kwan, a member of parliament from the left-leaning New Democratic Party, said the bill "should be alarming to many Canadians".

A big chunk of the new legislation deals with curbing the flow of fentanyl and illegal weapons across the US-Canada border - an issue that US President Donald Trump has used as justification for his tariffs on Canada.

Gary Anandasangaree, Canada's public safety minister, said he would brief US border tsar Tom Homan on the new legislation.

He acknowledged that the law would address issues that have been "irritants for the US", and that it would likely play into trade negotiations between Canada and the US.

But he added "it's not exclusively about the United States", and is also about securing Canada's borders.

Some advocacy groups have criticized the new rules. The Migrant Rights Network called the proposed measures "immoral", and said they "drastically restrict refugee protections and allow for mass deportations". — BBC