The federal government has agreed to review its immigration and border bill after five years, in a bid to assuage concerns raised in the Senate about its impact, particularly on asylum seekers.
On Tuesday, Senator Tony Dean, the sponsor of Bill C-12, tabled government-backed amendments at a late stage in its passage through Parliament, after the publication of a critical report by a Senate committee about the bill’s immigration and asylum measures.
The Senate committee on social affairs, science and technology (SOCI), which studied Bill C-12 and heard from a variety of experts, expressed fears that parts of the proposed legislation would lead to an “overreach of executive powers.”
Of particular concern to the committee was Part 8, which would prevent asylum seekers who have been in Canada for more than a year from having claims for refugee protection heard by the independent Immigration and Refugee Board.
The Senate committee report warned that the change could mean that someone who visited Canada as a baby for a day and later returned at age 10 could be deemed ineligible to be heard at the independent tribunal.
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The committee had called for the deletion of entire sections of the bill dealing with immigration and asylum and, failing that, for substantial amendments, including to sections tightening up Canada’s asylum system.
The bill reached third reading in the Senate on Tuesday, which is expected to continue for a few more days. Mr. Dean tabled the amendments, including one requiring the immigration minister to file a report after five years about measures restricting asylum claimants’ rights.
The report would assess the impact of barring asylum claimants who have been in Canada for more than a year from a hearing at the IRB, the independent tribunal that adjudicates refugee claims.
The report would include figures on the number of refugee protection claims deemed ineligible.
Mr. Dean proposed another amendment, which senators also approved, mandating Parliament to review the entire bill after five years and to report back within a year.
The passing of the government amendments in the Senate means that the bill will soon return to the Commons for further consideration by MPs.
The Senate also passed an amendment by Senator Paulette Senior to restrict powers allowing the Immigration Department to share personal information it holds, including with provinces and foreign authorities.
Senators questioned why the information-sharing powers would include details about permanent residents and naturalized Canadians.
They argued this would effectively create two tiers of Canadian citizenship, with differing rights. Senator Yuen Pau Woo pointed out that many senators discussing the bill were Canadians born abroad.
Alberta Senator Paula Simons told the Senate that Bill C-12 would give the Alberta government, which is preparing a referendum on immigration, “a brand new vector” for finding out who in the province is – or is not – a permanent resident or citizen, or a temporary resident. She said the bill would open “a very noxious chasm in the fabric of our Canadian society.”
Ms. Simons told The Globe that she is preparing her own amendment to create a degree of parliamentary oversight of powers in the bill allowing the immigration minister to mass cancel immigration documents, including visas and permanent residence cards.
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Senators and civil liberties groups have expressed disquiet at the proposed new powers, which the government said could be used, for example, to combat fraud.
Senators reiterated concerns about the impact of measures in the bill to bar asylum seekers who have been in Canada for more than a year from a hearing at the IRB.
Asylum seekers could still ask for an Immigration Department official to conduct an assessment of whether they would be at risk if deported. However, such pre-removal risk assessments do not generally include hearings, and are based on documentation.
Refugee experts had told senators on the SOCI committee that this would afford asylum claimants less protection, and could even lead to a legal challenge under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Mr. Woo told The Globe he is preparing an amendment to require an oral hearing as part of the pre-removal risk assessment to allow greater in-person scrutiny of people’s cases.
Senator Rosemary Moodie, chair of the SOCI committee, and Senator Marnie McBean said in the third reading debate that the one year cut-off on asylum hearings could particularly affect LGBTQ asylum claimants who often take more than a year to come out after arriving in Canada.
Another amendment being prepared seeks to extend the one-year time limit on an asylum hearing to two years.
Mr. Dean said the government has noted a growing proportion of asylum claimants have been in Canada for two or three years on temporary work or study permits. He said they “may now be looking to the asylum process as a means of staying in Canada.”
But he said the bill “does not take away from the ability of any refugee fearing repression, discrimination, violence or death to claim asylum in Canada.”