Latest news with #StrongBordersAct
Canada News.Net
6 days ago
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
Canada's proposed Strong Borders Act further threatens the legal rights of migrants
Share article Copy article link Print article Canada's federal government recently introduced the Strong Borders Act, also known as Bill C-2, that proposes Canada tighten migration controls and modernize border enforcement between Canada and the United States. Critics have warned the bill "could pave the way for mass deportations" as well as increase precarity for legal migrants. Even now, under existing laws, a migrant could be "legal" and still be denied health care, lose their job or effectively be unable to leave Canada for fear of being denied re-entry. Bill C-2's expanded enforcement powers and increased risk of status revocation could make these precarities much worse. This is already the quiet reality for thousands of migrants in Canada under their "maintained status", formerly "implied status." This status is a legal provision designed to protect continuity for temporary residents who apply to extend their permits. Maintained status itself is not the problem. On paper, it offers legal protection. But in practice, it often collapses because of the ecosystem in which it operates: fragmented institutions, absent co-ordination and lack of transparency. In May 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) quietly narrowed the scope of maintained status. Under the new rules, if a person's first application is refused while they are on maintained status, any second application submitted during that period is now automatically refused. This effectively strips applicants of legal status, including protections under maintained status, to remain in Canada. The change shows how even compliant migrants can lose status abruptly, further heightening the insecurity built into the system. This is a clear expression of complex precarity: a condition in which migrants face legal, economic and social insecurity, even when they follow all the rules. Maintained status is just one example of this larger phenomenon of Canadian policy generating hidden forms of exclusion. Migrants on maintained status are legally allowed to stay in Canada and continue working or studying under the same conditions as their expired permit. Yet no new permit is issued to confirm this status. Proof of this legal standing varies depending on how a person applies. Those who apply online may receive a WP-EXT letter confirming their right to continue working. However, this isn't issued to post-graduation work-permit holders, and expires after 365 days. Paper-based applicants are advised that no such letter will be provided. Instead, they must rely on a copy of their application, a fee payment receipt or courier tracking information to demonstrate continued legal status. If no letter is available, or once it expires, IRCC advises applicants to direct employers to the Help Centre web page as proof of their right to remain and work. These workarounds are legally valid but fall short of what many employers, landlords and service providers consider adequate proof of status. My current ongoing research points to how employers following rigid HR protocols often reject informal documentation. Some migrants even obtain letters from immigration lawyers to explain their legal right to remain and work. IRCC does not publish public data on the number of people on maintained status or how long they remain in that condition. Some front-line organizations have adjusted their services in response to this gap. MOSAIC, for example, a major settlement agency in British Columbia, explicitly lists "migrant workers on maintained status" as eligible for support. This signals institutional recognition of the category. The broader situation, however, reflects a disconnect between legal recognition by the state and practical verifiability in everyday life. Travel while on maintained status is legally permitted only under narrow conditions, such as holding a valid Temporary Resident Visa, being visa-exempt or returning from the U.S. under specific circumstances. But even in these cases, leaving Canada terminates maintained status. Migrants may be allowed to re-enter as visitors, but they cannot resume work or study until a new permit is issued. This introduces major uncertainties for people who may need to travel for family, emergencies or professional obligations. Access to public health insurance during maintained status varies widely across provinces. In Ontario, OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) cards are directly tied to the expiration of work permits. Unless migrants know to proactively request extended coverage and can meet specific document requirements, they risk losing health insurance entirely. Even when eligible, coverage is not automatic and may require out-of-pocket payment pending reimbursement. In Quebec, RAMQ (Regie de l'assurance maladie du Quebec) treats migrants on maintained status like new arrivals. They must reregister for coverage and face a three-month waiting period from the time of renewal, regardless of continuous legal presence. In British Columbia, by contrast, the MSP (Medical Services Plan) offers temporary coverage for up to six months (extendable) to individuals on maintained status, provided they previously held MSP and submit IRCC receipt proof. This more inclusive approach highlights how uneven provincial co-ordination amplifies the precarity of federal policy. Migrants face great risks on maintained status. Despite investments in automation and digital infrastructure, IRCC continues to experience chronic processing delays, leaving migrants in prolonged uncertainty: legally present, but practically unrecognized. To address this, Canada needs systems and resources designed to uphold legal recognition in daily life. It needs to: Create a secure centralized portal that allows migrants to control who can verify their legal status in real time. The U.K.'s share code platform and the American myEVerify system provide clear examples of how this can work, reducing confusion for employers, landlords, and service providers. Issue co-ordinated provincial guidance, particularly regarding access to essential services such as health care, so that front-line staff have clarity on migrants' rights under maintained status. Protect continuity of status after international travel, ensuring that those who leave Canada while on maintained status do not lose the ability to return and resume work or study. As Canada advances legislation like Bill C2, we must not ignore the country's quiet erosion of its existing legal architecture for migrants. Migrants on maintained status have followed the rules.
CBC
25-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Why is Canada's border bill raising data privacy concerns?
Bill C-2, known as the Strong Borders Act, would modify the Criminal Code, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Canada Post Corporation Act and the Oceans Act, and critics say it goes beyond the scope of protecting the Canadian border. CBC's Marina von Stackelberg explains why.
CTV News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Canadian border agency investigating dozens of cases of potential Iranian officials allowed into Canada
Former CBSA officer Kelly Sundberg says he is 'not optimistic' about the Strong Borders Act and it doesn't necessarily improve public safety for Canadians. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) confirms it is investigating how dozens of suspected Iranian officials have been allowed to enter Canada. In a statement to CTV News, CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy says all Iranian nationals must apply for a visa to enter Canada, at which point they are 'carefully assessed' by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). 'Our strong response to suspected senior officials in the Iranian regime remains in place and the CBSA continues to take action to stop them from seeking or finding safe haven in Canada,' Purdy wrote. In 2022, Canada designated the Iranian government one that 'engages in terrorism and systematic or gross human rights violations,' barring any senior government official from entering Canada. Under that designation, the CBSA says 131 visas have been cancelled by IRCC. The CBSA has also opened 115 investigations. Of those, Purdy wrote, 49 investigations have been concluded, and the remaining are ongoing. A concluded investigation means 'the individuals in question were either not in Canada or determined not to be a senior official in the Iranian regime and therefore not inadmissible for this reason.' The remaining 66 investigations are ongoing. Meanwhile, 20 people have been 'reported inadmissible' by the CBSA for being an Iranian regime senior official, 19 of which either have or will be sent for an admissibility hearing. Following admissibility hearings, three 'individuals were found inadmissible for being prescribed senior officials and issued deportation orders.' One individual has been removed from Canada, according to Purdy. There's been a heightened focus on the Iranian regime amid the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict. According to CBSA, those include senior officials from the government, security and intelligence agencies, as well as members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 'There are a number of factors that affect the ability to remove a person from Canada, including availability of subsequent applications that they can make, such as Pre-Removal Risk Assessment applications, and all persons are afforded due process against any decision made against them which can include seeking judicial review of those decisions,' Purdy wrote. 'The CBSA only actions a removal order once all legal avenues of recourse have been exhausted.' Following the designation, Purdy wrote, CBSA has cancelled visas, launched investigations, and conducted admissibility hearings. In addition to Canada's designation of the Iranian regime under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, it has also listed the IRGC as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code. With files from CTV News supervising producer Stephanie Ha
National Post
23-06-2025
- Business
- National Post
FIRST READING: All the hidden extras buried in the Liberals' fast-tracked omnibus bills
Article content What Bill C-4 would do is give political parties an exemption from all such guidelines, either federally or at the provincial level. What's more, it backtracks that exemption all the way to the year 2000. Article content The measures really have nothing to do with the rest of the bill, and they've notably showed up before in prior Liberal bills that dealt more specifically with elections law. Article content In addition to its ban on $10,000 cash payments, the Strong Borders Act would allow police to demand businesses turn over client info upon request, and without a warrant. Article content This is referred to as 'lawful access,' and it's something that police have been trying to get encoded into federal law since at least 2012. That was the year when a Conservative attempt to introduce the same fell apart following overwhelming public opposition. Lawful access is usually framed as something that would apply to internet companies, allowing police to demand the identities of anonymous web users that they deem to be up to no good. But the Strong Borders Act would extend to everyone from doctors to car rental companies to hotels. All police would need is 'reasonable grounds to suspect' that an offence 'has been or will be committed,' and then they'd be able to compel any of these businesses to clandestinely turn over private information on their clients. Article content The bill that's gotten the most attention in the current session of Parliament is Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act. This is the one that would give cabinet the power to earmark 'national interest projects' that could be exempt from select federal laws, including the Indian Act, the Impact Assessment Act and even the Migratory Birds Convention Act. It is also the only bill on this list that passed before the summer break; it passed third reading late on Friday night. Article content The bill is being pitched as a way to speed through approvals for mines, highways, pipelines, ports and all the other 'nation-building projects' being promised by the Carney government. This is part of why it's received broad support from the Conservative caucus. Article content But if Bill C-5 is intended to slash red tape, it only extends it to businesses in the good graces of the prime minister. Bill C-5, in its unamended form, gives the prime minister unilateral control over which companies would be spared the odyssey of the typical Canadian approvals process, and which wouldn't. It's for this reason that Liberal MP Karina Gould has called it the 'King Carney' bill. Article content Bill C-3 is easily the most straight-forward piece of legislation on this list, but it's also the one that could end up having the most far-reaching impacts. It's a package of amendments to the Citizenship Act that would extend citizenship to the foreign-born children of Canadian expats. Article content One scenario cited by defenders of the bill could be the case of a Canadian Armed Forces soldier who has a child while deployed overseas. But Bill C-3 is broad enough that it would allow citizenship to be claimed by anyone born overseas whose parent is a Canadian and has spent at least 1,095 days in the country. So, in extreme cases, the child of someone who left Canada as a toddler could be eligible for Canadian citizenship. The standard is loose enough that it's not actually known how many instant Canadians this would create. Article content The Liberals could claim that none of this is their idea, and that they're simply fulfilling the terms of an Ontario Superior Court decision which found that it violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to place a 'first-generation limit' on citizenship. However, the federal government acknowledged that it never bothered to appeal the ruling, explaining in a backgrounder that 'we agree that the current law has unacceptable consequences for Canadians whose children were born outside the country.'
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Canada takes a page out of Trump's immigration playbook; announces policies to tighten borders
Canada has announced new legislation called the Strong Borders Act to give authorities more powers over its borders, security, and immigration systems. The Carney government said the measures will help 'protect the integrity of the system' and respond quickly to emergencies, security threats, and rising asylum claims. The new law allows authorities to cancel, suspend or change documents like visas, work permits, or travel authorizations if needed for the public interest. This can be done to respond to health or safety threats, misuse of programmes, or other emergencies. 'The new legislation does not grant the Government of Canada the authority to cancel asylum claims," the government said. Final decisions will be made by the Governor General and consider the impact on vulnerable people. The Strong Borders Act will also make information sharing between federal departments, provinces, and territories more effective. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will be able to share information such as status and documents with authorized departments and services. This will help authorities confirm identities, detect fraud, and support enforcement. All information sharing will still be subject to privacy laws. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Confidence packed. Wrinkles left behind. Philips Garment Steamers Book Now Undo To make the asylum process faster and more organized, the new rules will simplify online applications, making them the same across airports and inland offices. The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) will only review claims from people physically present in Canada, and remove inactive claims quickly. The changes will also help minors and claimants unfamiliar with the process by providing representatives. (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) Two new ineligibility measures will take effect from June 3, 2025. The first applies to people making an asylum claim more than a year after arriving in Canada. The second applies to people entering from the United States between official crossings and making claims after 14 days. These claimants can still seek protection through a Pre‑Removal Risk Assessment, which ensures no one is returned to a country where they risk harm. Live Events You Might Also Like: Canada uncovers bribery and misconduct cases within immigration system Additional Border and Security Powers The Strong Borders Act will also expand the role of the Canadian Coast Guard to conduct security patrols, especially in remote Arctic waters. It allows the Coast Guard to collect, analyze, and share security information. The new rules also enable the RCMP to share information about registered sex offenders with authorities in Canada and the United States. Fighting Organized Crime and Fentanyl To fight organized crime and the spread of fentanyl, the Government will make it easier for authorities to control chemicals used in making illegal drugs. The Minister of Health can quickly ban such chemicals. New powers will also be added to the Criminal Code, the Customs Act, and other laws, allowing authorities to search mail and digital data, and obtain information from transporters and warehouses to aid investigations. The 'Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act' will require service providers to help authorities with access to data and intercepting information during investigations. You Might Also Like: Accessing federal benefits in Canada just got easier for newcomers Stopping Money Laundering The new measures will also update the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. New penalties will apply for violations, and restrictions will be introduced for large cash and third‑party cash transactions. All businesses subject to the law must register with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). The law will also allow FINTRAC to share information with the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections, making it harder for money to move secretly within the country. The changes clarify how private institutions can share information with authorities and support the Integrated Money Laundering Intelligence Partnership between banks and enforcement agencies. The amendments will also add the Director of FINTRAC to the Financial Institutions Supervisory Committee (FISC), making it possible for the Director to share information with other members. You Might Also Like: Canada's population growth slows as immigration rules tighten These changes, the Government said, are 'to build a safer and more equitable Canada' while aligning its laws with modern needs and making sure privacy and Charter rights are respected.
