What is Canada's new immigration bill? Fentanyl flow and border security addressed; to boost 'integrity' of country's immigration system
The Canadian government proposed a new bill aimed at tightening the country's immigration system and expanding law enforcement powers. Known as the Strong Borders Act, the legislation would restrict some asylum claims and allow authorities to pause immigration processing in certain circumstances.
The proposal comes as Canada faces mounting pressure to reduce immigration levels, with public services under strain and a national housing shortage worsening. Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, who took office after winning April's election, has vowed to address what he called 'unsustainable' immigration numbers.
One major provision in the bill would bar individuals from applying for asylum if they have been in Canada for over a year, making them eligible for deportation.
It would also grant police increased power to monitor the border shared with the US.
Part of the bill targets the cross-border flow of fentanyl and illegal weapons, issues that have created friction with the US in recent years.
Under current law, people can claim asylum in Canada regardless of how long they've been in the country. The new bill would change that, also requiring asylum seekers entering from the US under the safe third country agreement to apply for protection within 14 days.
Even if a claim is rejected due to timing, applicants would still be eligible for a risk assessment to determine whether returning them to their home country would pose a danger.
The 127-page bill also proposes expanded powers for authorities to open and inspect mail during criminal investigations, and would introduce new financial restrictions, such as banning cash transactions over Canadian $10,000 and large cash deposits into another person's account.
Immigration minister Lena Diab said the bill is designed to combat organised crime and reduce the flow of illegal drugs and weapons. She added that the proposed changes would help preserve the "integrity" of Canada's immigration system.
Critics say the proposed measures threaten civil liberties. Jenny Kwan, a lawmaker with the New Democratic Party, warned that the bill 'should be alarming to many Canadians.' Advocacy group, Migrant Rights Network also condemned the legislation, calling it "immoral" and accusing the government of preparing for "mass deportations."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Time of India
Trump's tariff threats on Canadian imports hit supply chains as experts raise alarms for local businesses
After US President Donald Trump moved ahead with tariffs on Canadian goods and imposed a 35 percent levy on imports starting August 1, 2025, many local business owners and trade experts are gearing up for wide effects. The Trump tariffs are likely to impact everything from agriculture and automotive to small-scale maple syrup producers and independent retailers. Kyle Peacock, founder of Peacock Tariff Consulting in Orillia, has predicted that all sectors in Simcoe Muskoka, a region in Ontario province, are most likely to be the most impacted. 'This is all-inclusive across the board. This is going to affect everyone in everyday life,' said Peacock, as quoted by CTV News. Trump announced on Thursday, July 10, 2025, that the US would impose a 35% tariff on imports from Canada starting August 1, 2025. He also said that he planned to impose blanket tariffs of 15% or 20% on most other trade partners. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Dukung Orang Terkasih Menghadapi Limfoma: Mulai Di Sini Limfoma Baca Undo Peacock went on and asserted that no industry would be left untouched by the tariffs imposed by the US. 'The U.S. is one of our major markets for maple syrup. With this increase, we will see that the U.S. markets will source non-Ontario, non-Simcoe County maple syrup,' he further stated. Michele O'Sullivan, co-owner of Hutchinson Maple Syrup in Oro-Medonte, is concerned about the trickle-down effect if larger producers around her are discouraged from exporting to the south. 'If that supply is not going down to the States, the market here is likely going to be flooded,' O'Sullivan said. 'Who knows what that's going to do to the smaller producer?' she further stated. Live Events Peacock said that rising prices on imported goods are also inevitable, as the costs will also increase on everything from grocery store fruits and vegetables to goods from local businesses. 'Anything that is purchased from the U.S., you'll see a significant increase,' he stated. Greg Czetwerzuk, founder of his 'Bean Around The Block' mobile coffee business, imports his coffee beans from South America and is also vulnerable to tariff spikes as they impact ingredient cost and the supply chain network. 'It really affects the ingredient cost and the supply chain network that I can use,' said Czetwerzuk. 'It's already had an impact of about 25 percent year-to-date,' Czetwerzuk said, as quoted by CTV News In Barrie, the Chamber of Commerce is providing required help to local businesses by appealing to their trade partners in Harrogate, England, Barrie's sister city. Paul Markle, Barrie Chamber of Commerce CEO, said, 'We almost immediately had about 40 businesses that connected with us.' 'That kind of response is significant with one email. A lot of clients are fed up with the yo-yo of tariffs on, tariffs off,' added Peacock. 'Now it's time to act,' he added.
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Time of India
Assam government starts eviction drive in Goalpara district
Guwahati: Assam government has started an eviction drive in Goalpara district . With this eviction the district administration will reclaim around 1,040 bighas of land in Paikan Reserve Forest of Krishnai Forest Range in Goalpara. The encroachers were given a July 10 deadline to vacate the area. The Gauhati High court has earlier asked the government to clear encroachment in the forest land. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This Mosquito Bracelet Is a Canadian Best-Seller Techno Info Gadget Undo A senior government officer said, "We are clearing 149 hectares. The process is likely to be completed by Sunday. About 2,070 concrete structures need to be dismantled. This is a forest land that has been encroached upon. Heavy deployment of police personnel, along with bulldozers, excavators, and senior officials, is in place to ensure the drive is conducted without disruption.' One of the alleged encroachers tried to end his life while being evicted but was stopped by one of his family members and was rushed to the hospital. Live Events Opposition parties have launched protests over the eviction, the All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) alleged that they were stopped by police while they were trying to enter the eviction site. Eight AIUDF MLAs staged a demonstration against the government outside the eviction site. AIUDF MLA Hafiz Rafikul Islam said, "These villages have been marked in the Assam NRC of 1951. People here have voter cards. There are electricity lines, roads, water projects, and government schools. All these in forest land? How can it be forest land? How can these people be encroachers?" Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently said that in the last four years as many as 25,000 acres have been cleared of illegal encroachment. Some organisations claimed that this drive is targeted towards Bengali speaking Muslim. Talking to media persons on Thursday, Sarma said, 'As of now, the Assam government has cleared thousands of bighas of land in the last four years. In my view, it is not less than 25,000 acres of land.' The chief minister said that the government will provide land to the evicted people however they have to prove that they are landless, and they must be Indian citizens. 'They have to be landless in their native places, not at the evicted place.'. He claimed that the recent eviction drive in Lakhimpur in Upper Assam has revealed startling facts. "People from Sribhumi, South Salmara-Mankachar and other minority-dominated areas were residing in the northern Assam district. While Sribhumi is in Barak valley, South Salmara and Mankachar is in Southern was a big conspiracy to change the demography of Lakhimpur." Sarma said'In Goalpara, there are 200-300-years-old temples. But Hindus in the area are a minority,' he added. On Tuesday, the Dhubri district and police administration carried out an eviction drive at three villages under Chapar revenue circle and cleared approx 3500 bighas of land. However, the situation turned violent at Chapar as some of the encroachers opposed the eviction and there was stone pelting on the police and other officials from the administration, which led to damage of two excavators. "Large swathes of land have been encroached upon by people from different places. We must clear those so that the areas can be used for projects for public goods. This was done at Chapar in Dhubri on July 8," said the Chief Minister. The All BTC Minority Students' Union (ABMSU) staged a protest in Bedlangmari, Kokrajhar recently demanding an immediate halt to the ongoing eviction drives across Assam. ABMSU Central General Secretary Jaidul Islam accused the BJP-led Assam government of disproportionately targeting minority communities, particularly Muslims, through eviction drives. 'Since the BJP came to power, many minority families have been made homeless. This is a deliberate attempt to push Muslims out of Assam,' Islam claimed. He further stated that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's policies are 'systematically reducing Muslims to second-class citizens.'
Economic Times
14 hours ago
- Economic Times
Trump's sudden shifts make his policies baffling to countries trying to negotiate lower tariffs
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads In the past week, President Donald Trump has managed to make his erratic trade policies even more baffling to countries desperate to negotiate an escape from his down on his trade wars, Trump is threatening to raise taxes on many goods from Canada, hike his universal tariff on imports from around the world and punish Brazil for prosecuting his friend, the country's former U.S. trade negotiator Wendy Cutler said that Trump's recent moves "underscore the growing unpredictability, incoherence and assertiveness'' of his trade policies."It's hard for trading partners to know where they stand with Trump on any given day and what more may be coming their way when least expected,'' said Cutler, now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Thursday, the president escalated a conflict he started with America's second-biggest trading partner and longstanding ally, raising the tariff -- effectively a tax - on many Canadian imports to 35% effective Aug. sudden announcement, revealed in a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, came despite Carney's push to reach a trade deal with the United States by July 21. And it followed a big concession by Canada: On June 29, it had agreed to drop a digital services tax that Trump considered unfair to U.S. tech is far from the only target. In an interview Thursday with NBC News Trump suggested that he plans to raise his "baseline'' tariff on most imports from an already-high 10% to as much as 20%. Trump sees the baseline tariffs as a way to finance the budget-busting tax cuts in the "One Big Beautiful Bill'' he signed into law July tariff threats came after his extraordinary decision Wednesday to impose a 50% import tax on Brazil mainly because he didn't like the way it was treating former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing trial for trying to overturn his electoral defeat in his letter to current Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Trump also incorrectly claimed that Brazilian trade barriers had caused "unsustainable Trade Deficits against the United States.'' In fact, U.S. exports to Brazil have exceeded imports for 18 straight years, including a $29 billion surplus last some, Trump's action against Brazil indicates he's trying to exert influence over more than trade."Trump seems to view tariffs as an instrument to influence not just other countries' trade and economic policies but even their domestic legal and political matters," said Eswar Prasad, professor of trade policy at Cornell faith in the economic superpowers of tariffs is unshaken even though they so far have proven largely ineffective in bullying other countries to cut April 2, Trump announced the 10% baseline tariffs and larger "reciprocal'' tariffs - up to 50% -- on dozens of countries with which the United States runs trade deficits. But responding to a rout in global financial markets, he quickly suspended the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to give countries a chance to administration promised "90 deals in 90 days'' but got only two - with the United Kingdom and Vietnam -- before the deadline ran out than reinstituting the reciprocal tariffs, Trump sent letters to 23 countries saying he'll impose levies ranging from 20% on the Philippines to the 50% on Brazil Aug. 1 if they couldn't reach an Bown, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, was not surprised that Trump needed more time to press U.S. trading partners to do more to open their markets to U.S. exports - though another three weeks is unlikely to be enough time to reach substantive agreements."For each of these countries, they have their own domestic challenges about what they can and can't offer,'' he said. "There's a reason why that market access hasn't been granted before ... they have domestic political constituencies that argue to keep protection in place. And those just aren't problems that can easily be solved in a matter of weeks.''Malaysia, for instance, has "specific red lines'' it will not cross, Trade Minister Zafrul Aziz said Wednesday, including U.S. demands involving government contracts, halal certification, medical standards and a digital Malaysia has pledged to buy 30 Boeing planes and offered other concessions involving semiconductors and technology. "It has to be fair," he said. "If the deal does not benefit Malaysia, we should not have a deal.''Still, the United States' $30 trillion economy and free-spending consumers give Trump considerable leverage, especially over countries that depend on trade. "These countries need the United States,'' said Matthew Goodman, director of the Council on Foreign Relations' Center for Geoeconomic Studies. "They need our market.''Thailand, facing the threat of a 36% Trump tariff Aug. 1, is continuing to push for a deal and has offered to open its market to more U.S. farm, energy and industrial said Vietnam gave U.S. companies duty-free access to its market while agreeing to a 20% U.S. tariff on its exports - though details of the deal have not been released. "The Vietnam deal was fantastic,'' Stephen Miran, chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers, crowed last Sunday on ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos.'' "It's extremely one-sided.''Other countries "can't afford to walk away,'' said Goodman, former director for international economics on the National Security Council. "But they're going to be increasingly unhappy and resistant to the most over-the-top requests.''Sometimes there's a backlash against U.S. bullying. Carney's Liberal party, for example, won a come-from-behind election victory in April because he stood up to Trump's countries are beginning to look for alternatives to economic reliance on the United States. Canada is negotiating a trade pact with Southeast Asian countries, some of which are also moving closer to governments might also simply hope to outlast Trump, who has shown a willingness to declare victory after signing "framework'' agreements such as one with China that leave the toughest issues for future negotiations."For Trump, the squeeze is more important than the juice," said William Reinsch, a former U.S. trade official now at the Center of Strategic and International Studies. "What's important to him is winning - the public, visible appearance of winning. And what he wins is less important."So the trick for these countries becomes: 'How do we let him win in a way that allows us to make the least damaging concessions?'"
