Humanitarian, Refugees and Foreign Affairs

Hill Times: IRCC forecasts 30 per cent spending cut by 2028 amid lower immigration targets

‘It’s a giant mess,’ says MP Kwan

Earlier this year, IRCC announced its plans to cut 3,300 jobs from its workforce, citing Canada’s reduced immigration targets.

In November 2024, then-immigration minister Marc Miller (Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, Que.) announced drastic cuts to the targeted number of permanent residents admitted to Canada in the next two years, and tighter rules around temporary worker permits.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.) said the Liberals are “plowing ahead” with cuts despite persistent and prolonged delays in processing immigration cases.

“As it stands in the system, the backlog is unbelievable,” said Kwan, the NDP’s immigration critic. “Families are separated, people are being persecuted, and it can’t be processed in an expeditious way. It’s a giant mess.”

Wait times for spousal sponsorship applications outside Quebec have jumped from 12 to 24 months, she said, and applications for parents and grandparents have been frozen for two years.

Refugees who are fleeing persecution, who are “in dire straits” and are privately sponsored by Canadian citizens, can face wait times of over three years.

“This is just a snapshot of some of the problems that exist within our system,” she said. “Cuts to IRCC staff will only further delay the processing, and create greater pain and anguish for the people stuck in the system.”

Maclean's: Why Canada’s New Border Policy Could Screw Over Refugees

In June, Mark Carney tabled the Strong Borders Act to combat organized crime, fentanyl trafficking and illegal firearms at the border. As with many border-related issues these days, it largely stems from the Trump administration. “There were a number of elements in the bill that have been irritants for the U.S., so we are addressing some of those issues,” said public safety minister Gary Anandasangaree.
While Bill C-2 cleared its first reading in the House of Commons, many aren’t sold on the legislation. Immigration experts say it dramatically rolls back long-standing protections for refugees and migrants, and civil rights advocates say it gives Ottawa sweeping new surveillance powers that infringe on Canadians’ Charter rights.

What are the privacy implications of these expanded powers?

They’re expanding the ability for police and spy agencies to demand information without a warrant—based merely on “reasonable suspicion.” Canada Post, for example, could open your mail. Public service providers like doctors could be compelled to hand over private details. The bill would also enable information to be shared with foreign entities just with the consent of a minister. Some experts, including member of Parliament and NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan, have raised concerns that American anti-abortion states could use the provision to request information from Canadian abortion clinics.

Globe & Mail: Ottawa’s hotel bill for asylum seekers reaches $1.1-billion

The federal government says it has spent $1.1-billion to house asylum seekers in hotels since 2017, on top of $1.5-billion it has given provinces and cities to help pay for refugee claimants’ upkeep.

Ottawa began housing asylum seekers in hotels in 2017 as a temporary stop gap as shelters were overwhelmed by increasing numbers. It started block-booking rooms to help relieve the burden on provinces and towns to accommodate the rising number of claimants.

Asylum claims have increased dramatically from 50,365 in 2017 to 173,000 in 2024 in Canada. Most arrive in Ontario and Quebec, particularly in Montreal and Toronto.

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said renting hotel rooms for asylum claimants “does not make any sense” and the government needs to find a sustainable and more affordable way to house people after they arrive here.

CBC: $68M project to secure, revamp Canada's asylum system shut down unexpectedly, documents show

A $68-million project led by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that was meant to revamp Canada's outdated asylum system and enhance the integrity of the country's borders was quietly shut down last year — an "unexpected" move for some in the government because it was only partly completed, internal documents show.

Now, some critics fear the outcomes that were achieved may be more harmful than beneficial for people seeking protection in Canada.

IRCC's "asylum interoperability project" began in 2019 and was supposed to wrap up by 2022. It came during a surge of asylum seekers entering Canada, putting pressure on an already struggling system that relied heavily on paper files. Its launch followed calls for major reform.

The Guardian: With his immigration bill, Canada’s prime minister is bowing to Trump

Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, is bucking all of that lore after pressure from the US in the form of Donald Trump’s “concerns” about undocumented migrants and fentanyl moving across the US-Canada border. In response, the recently elected Liberal PM put forward a 127-page bill that includes, among other worrying provisions, sweeping changes to immigration policy that would make the process much more precarious for refugees and could pave the way for mass deportations.

If passed, Carney’s Strong Borders Act (or Bill C-2) would bar anyone who has been in the country for more than a year from receiving refugee hearings. That would apply retroactively to anyone who entered the country after June 2020. If they arrived on foot between official ports of entry, meanwhile, they’d have to apply for asylum within 14 days of entering Canada – a disastrous outcome for people fleeing Trump’s persecution. The bill also gives the immigration minister’s office the authority to cancel immigration documents en masse.

This bill has been widely condemned by politicians and advocacy groups such as Amnesty International and the Migrants Rights Network, who are rightly worried about just how much havoc a change like this could wreak. Jenny Wai Ching Kwan, a member of Parliament for Vancouver East, told reporters the bill would breach civil liberties and basic rights.

McGill Daily: The Continental Mosaic Immigration Sparks Unrest and Policy Shifts Across North America

However, the Strong Borders Act has faced immediate backlash. Critics, including MP Jenny Kwan, the Migrant Rights Network, and refugee advocates, say the bill mimics Trump-era US tactics and risks violating Canada’s international obligations to protect refugees.

“It’s an alarming shift,” Kwan said, describing the bill as a “massive rollback of rights” that can erode Canada’s long-standing humanitarian commitments.

The US factor looms large. President Trump has repeatedly accused Canada of failing to stop the movement of illicit fentanyl and irregular migration across the northern frontier. In February, Trump threatened and implemented short-lived tariffs on certain Canadian exports, rattling Ottawa and adding impetus for Carney’s government to show it can police its own borders more strictly.

“There are items in the bill that have been irritants for the US, so we’re addressing some of those issues,” Anandasangaree acknowledged, even as he insisted the bill is about Canadian security first.

The Strong Borders Act has already sparked protests and is mounting legal challenges in Ottawa and in major cities like Montreal and Toronto. Critics argue that Canada, long seen as a beacon of openness, is at risk of abandoning that tradition in the name of security. For Carney’s government, the challenge remains how to reassure a skeptical public that the system is both secure and fair without sacrificing the country’s humanitarian identity.

 

CTV News: Advocacy groups warn federal bill could give law enforcement sweeping powers to access information

NDP MP and public safety and national security critic Jenny Kwan has also voiced opposition to the bill, calling it a “sweeping attack on Canadian civil liberties.”

“It would allow the RCMP and CSIS to make information demands from internet providers, banks, doctors, landlords and even therapists, without judicial oversight,” Kwan said in the House of Commons earlier this month. “This is not about border security. It is about government overreach and Big Brother tactics, plain and simple.”

Bill C-2 is formally titled “An Act respecting certain measures relating to the security of the border between Canada and the United States and respecting other related security measures.”

It was at second reading in the House of Commons before MPs broke for the summer break last week. Any other progress on the bill will have to wait until the House resumes in mid-September.

Hill Times: Government’s border security bill draws heavy criticism from civil rights groups

Since Bill C-2’s introduction, vocal critics of the legislation in the House have included NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.), her party’s critic for public safety, immigration, and citizenship. On June 11, Kwan told the House that the “so-called stronger borders act makes Harper’s Bill C-51 look like child’s play.”

“Bill C-2 is a sweeping attack on Canadian civil liberties. It would allow the RCMP and CSIS to make information demands from internet providers, banks, doctors, landlords and even therapists, without judicial oversight. This is not about border security. It is about government overreach and Big Brother tactics, plain and simple. It is a violation of our privacy, and it will be challenged in court,” she said in the House.

In response to Kwan, Anandasangaree defended the bill, saying the Strong Borders Act would help keep Canadians safe.

 

HANSARD: Introduce Private Member's Bill to to establish Ombud Office for the Department of Citizenship and Immigration

HANSARD: Introduce PMB C-213, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (cessation of refugee protection)