I think it was Pat Buchanan who called Canada “Soviet Canuckistan” but I don’t quite remember.
At any rate, Canada’s latest moves in the immigration sphere (and Haiti, see next entry) would probably go a ways to placate folks like Pat, since they do just what the empire dreamed of.
Got this note in email about the Orwellian-named ‘Safe Third Country’ agreement. Simply put, it means that if the US kicks you out, Canada won’t take you. Nice!
US-CANADA AGREEMENT KICKS IN
On Nov. 24 US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) director Eduardo Aguirre announced the Nov. 29 publication of a final rule implementing a bilateral agreement affecting asylum seekers at US-Canada land border ports-of-entry. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule, which takes effect Dec. 29, requires migrants seeking asylum in the US or Canada to apply in whichever of the countries they arrived in first. The rule does allow those with a close relative in Canada to claim asylum at a border crossing, and bars removal of applicants to a third country pending a final ruling on their case.
Some 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants in the US apply for asylum in Canada, according to official statistics. The rule also affects about 200 migrants a year who enter the US through Canada each year to seek asylum. Advocates fear the rule will fuel illegal border crossings, since those who enter Canada without detection can still seek asylum there.
The “Safe Third Country Agreement” was signed by the US and Canada on Dec. 5, 2002, after being introduced in a 30-point “Smart Border Declaration” signed by the two countries in December 2001 [see INB 1/10/03]. The agreement could not take effect until both countries published final regulations. Canada published its regulations on Nov. 3. [DHS Press Release 11/24/04; Federal Register 11/29/04; AP 11/29/04; Vive Inc. Press Release 11/29/04; Immigration Equality Press Release 11/29/04]
In addition to this agreement, Canada’s Court of Appeals has ruled that the ‘security certificate’ system, by which a couple of officials signing a warrant means that an immigrant can be detained indefinitely without due process (and that means without even access to the evidence against them), is ‘constitutional’. That would seem to suggest a problem either with the court or with the constitution. Using these ‘certificates’, Adil Charkaoui has been ‘held’ for 20 months. Mohammad Harkat was arrested two years ago. And of course Maher Arar was deported to Syria where he was imprisoned and tortured for 10 months.
The text of the decision contains typical contortions: “The appellant has been unable to demonstrate that the procedure for reviewing the reasonableness of the security certificate issued against him … do not meet the requirements of the Charter.” The judges said that if evidence could harm ‘national security’, then the authorities can suppress it.
The things that are done in the name of ‘national security’…
But it won’t all happen without a fight. Below is a note from a group called the ‘Human Rights Action Committee’. They are camping out in front of Immigration Canada offices for 4 days on rotating hunger strike (in the cold!)
Details below.
— Refugees camping out in front of Immigration Canada offices for 3 nights and 4 days
— Protesters burn documents to protest “racist and incompetent” IRB
[There are 18 photos to accompany this article, available at: http://gallery.cmaq.net/Refugee-camp-out-at-Montreal-IRB
Article available at: http://www.cmaq.net
An audio interview with one of the organizers of the protest is available at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=10589]
MONTREAL (December 9, 2004) — At least two dozen refugee claimants, members of the Human Rights Action Committee (HRAC), have been camping outside the Montreal offices of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) since this past Tuesday. They will remain on their camp-out until the evening of December 10, which is International Human Rights Day.
The protesters have also been maintaining a rotating hunger strike, for at least 24 hours each. Their actions are aimed to raise awareness about the unjust practices of the IRB, and the potential deportation of hundreds of refugee claimants from India in the coming months.
The HRAC is comprised of self-organized, mainly Punjabi-speaking, refugees. The protesters at the IRB range in age from 24 to 70. All the hunger strikers are refused refugee claimants who personally face deportation.
The HRAC’s main demands include an end to deportations and the regularization of all non-status people in Canada. As well, they are demanding specific changes in the refugee-determination process, including a refugee appeal division, an end to single-judge panels.
Currently, a single judge determines whether a claimant is a refugee or not, and there is no appeal on the merits of a claim, despite promises by the federal government to establish an appeals division in 2002. As part of the protest, the HRAC is highlighting the “racist and incompetent” practices of IRB judges, and were naming specific judges who were notorious for their rejection of refugee claims.
To denounce the behavior of certain judges, the protesters burned various articles and reports documenting human rights abuses by the Indian police and government in the Punjab. Their action was meant to highlight how some judges don’t even bother to read the extensive documentation that support refugee claims.
The rotating hunger strike and camp-out began on Tuesday morning, and demonstrators have slept overnight outside the IRB since then. Two large mattresses have been placed beside the building, as well as dozens of heavy blankets to keep the demonstrators warm in the sub-zero winter weather.
The Human Rights Action Committee’s rotating hunger strike and camp-out follows many months of protests, lobbying and media work on behalf of hundreds of failed refugee claimants and illegal immigrants in Montreal and Toronto. They have demonstrated outside of both Prime Minister Paul Martin’s and Immigration Minister Judy Sgro’s constituency offices multiple times, and have met with dozens of Members of Parliament, as well as collecting thousands of names on a petition.
The HRAC is part of the Solidarity Across Borders network in Montreal, which brings together self-organized, directly-affected refugee groups and individuals, and their allies, in a common campaign for justice and dignity for all immigrants and refugees. Solidarity Across Borders and the HRAC will be planning more actions and activities in the coming months.
–> To get in touch with the Human Rights Action Committee: hrac@sympatico.ca or 514-952-2279.
–> To get in touch with the Solidarity Across Borders network in Montreal: noii-montreal@resist.ca or 514-859-9023.
Text by JBS Photos by Kumar and Singh Audio by Samira Rahmani
My understanding is that the
My understanding is that the implications are more wide-reaching than simply “if the US kicks you out, Canada won’t take you.” The law states that refugees must apply for status in the country in which they land. This will drastically reduce the number of applicants to Canada because most travel to North America enters in the U.S.
This would make it difficult or impossible for some refugees whose intention is to apply for status in Canada, rather than the U.S., to even reach their intended destination.