We live in an interconnected world, and events transpiring worldwide ultimately affects Canadians, whether we are speaking about economic trade, global prices of goods and commodities, knowledge and skills exchange, effects of climate change, disease transmission and control, natural disaster management, and others. Fulfilling our international obligations protects and serves the interests of Canadians.
People fleeing war, persecution or natural disasters face tremendous barriers to obtaining necessary travel documents. For this reason, I have been advocating for visa-free travel for urgent, life-and-death situations such as the war in Ukraine. I have also been advocating for the government to rescind the safe third country agreement because often, refugees cannot get to safety without first going to a third country. It is paramount that Canada has an adequately resourced immigration system that can act with flexibility and expediency in times of crisis without compromising national security standards.
As your Member of Parliament, I will fight to ensure Canada fulfills its humanitarian and environmental obligations as a member of the international community.
Jenny Kwan, the NDP’s critic on immigration, said in a social media post before the bill was tabled that the “sudden reversal” shows it was flawed from the start.
“Why was the ‘safety’ border bill rushed without consultation or due diligence?” she said. “Public safety legislation should never be driven by Trump or foreign politics. Canadians deserve better.”
The new legislation includes the other elements included in Bill C-2, including restricting access to asylum, increasing authorities’ control over immigration documents, expanding border officers’ ability to inspect exports, giving the Canadian Coast Guard security patrol powers and allowing more information sharing with other levels of government and the United States.
