Here’s what the proposed Bill C-2 means for immigrants and asylum seekers in Canada

RCMP officers help asylum seekers as they cross the border to Quebec at Roxham Road from Champlain, N.Y., on March 24, 2023. (Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press)

Canada has announced new measures under the proposed Bill C-2 in response to what it called growing migration pressures.

In a press release Tuesday, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said the government is “committed to rebuilding Canadians’ trust in the immigration system by prioritizing balance.”

According to a background document, the proposed rules contained in Bill C-2, or the Strong Borders Act, would ensure law enforcement has the tools to secure borders, as well as fight transnational organized crime, illegal fentanyl and money laundering.

“We’re improving security at the Canada-U.S. border and making our immigration and asylum systems stronger, more flexible, and responsive to new and developing pressures,” Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said in a statement Tuesday.

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The IRCC added in its press release that it would improve the “integrity and fairness of our immigration system while protecting Canadians’ privacy and Charter rights.”

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, who introduced the bill in Ottawa on Tuesday, said in a statement that Canadian officials are aiming to work with American border and law enforcement agencies to strengthen the border and combat organized crime.

Here’s what you need to know about how the new Bill C-2 measures could affect immigrants and asylum seekers:

Sharing client information

The bill would allow IRCC to share client information, such as identity, status and immigration documents, with federal, provincial and territorial partners, according to the background document.

It would also make it easier for IRCC to share the information between the department’s different programs. For instance, permanent residence application data could be used to process citizenship applications.

Moreover, it would allow for the creation of regulations to facilitate the sharing of client information across federal departments.

Immigration documents

The federal government says the bill would strengthen authorities’ ability to have control over immigration documents in matters of public interest, such as issues related to public health or national security.

Under the new rules, authorities could cancel, suspend or change immigration documents immediately; pause accepting new applications; and pause or cancel processing of applications already in the system.

Asylum claims

The background document says the bill would “improve and modernize” the asylum system by making it more efficient and easier for claimants to navigate.

Changes would include:

• Simplifying the online application process, including making the process the same for those claiming asylum at a port of entry or in-land IRCC office
• Refer complete claims to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) to speed up decisions. The IRB would only make decisions on claims while the claimant is physically in Canada
• Remove inactive cases
• Make removal orders effective the same day a claim is withdrawn in order to speed up voluntary departures
• Assign representatives to support “vulnerable claimants,” such as minors and those who don’t understand the process, during IRCC and Canada Border Services Agency proceedings.

New ineligibility rules

Two ineligibility rules would aim to protect the asylum system against a sudden surge in claims.

These measures would apply to the following cases:

• People who make asylum claims more than one year after first arriving in Canada after June 24, 2020, would not be referred to the IRB. This rule would apply to anyone, including students and temporary residents, whether they left the country or returned.
• Asylum claimants who enter Canada from the United States along the land border and make a claim after 14 days would not be referred to the IRB.

Those who are affected by the ineligibility rules could still apply for a pre-removal risk assessment to avoid being sent back to a country where they could face harm.

Wesley Wark, an expert on national security and intelligence issues, was not available for an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday, but wrote in his National Security and Intelligence newsletter that he was concerned about some of the proposed changes. He listed examples such as the measures giving the government new powers to pause or cancel processing applications, or to pause the acceptance of new applications to live in Canada.

“It is suggested that these powers would only be used to deal with health or national security emergencies, but they have an unfortunate Trumpian ring to them,” he wrote in a newsletter published Tuesday.

He said those proposals don’t have checks and balances other than the need for the cabinet, led by the prime minister, to make decisions about them.

“It will be interesting to see whether Parliament thinks that is sufficient, or what it makes of the vague rationale underlying these new powers,” Wark wrote.