Humanitarian, Refugees and Foreign Affairs

Globe & Mail: Border bill powers would allow warrantless police requests to doctors, abortion clinics, hotels

The bill would give CSIS and the police, or a “public officer,” the power to demand the basic information without a warrant if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a crime could be committed, or that any breach of a law passed by Parliament may take place. A draft form for making the information demand says to help with the investigation of an offence, the information must be provided “as soon as possible.”

The bill would gag the provider from saying they had received such a demand.

“With these powers, any official tasked with enforcing a federal law could go to the company you rented a car from or the hotel you stayed at and paint a detailed picture of your activities simply by confirming the various companies you interacted with,” said Tamir Israel, director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association’s privacy, surveillance and technologies program.

“Even health providers could face secret demands and would need to hire a lawyer and challenge these in court within five days of receiving them if they wished to avoid revealing that you are their client.”

Net News Ledger: Critics Warn Bill C-2 Could Open Door to Warrantless Surveillance of Canadians

NDP MP Jenny Kwan, the party’s public safety and immigration critic, called the bill a step toward a surveillance state. “This could allow police to approach any doctor or service provider to find out what other services someone is using—without a warrant,” she said. “Even landlords could be compelled to disclose private information.”

Kwan also criticized the government’s lack of transparency, noting that no Charter analysis has been published for Bill C-2—despite being standard practice since the last election. “Canadians who voted for Mark Carney never signed up for this,” she added.

Guardian Opinion: Canadians said no to Trump – so why is Mark Carney pushing a Maga-inspired border bill?

The Carney Liberal government introduced Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act, as their first piece of legislation in the House of Commons after the federal election.  This Bill is supposed to appease Trump with his delusional claims on fentanyl trafficking against Canada.  Instead of elbows up, speaking truth to power, he is bending a knee to Trump.  

Worst still, this legislation intends to align Canada with the US's refugee policies - it is an anti-immigrant and anti-refugee bill that goes against Canadian values and historically progressive policies.  Due process and administrative fairness are tossed out the window.  Oversight and accountability - non-existent.  

This Act will result in a mass deportation by administrative means, rather than law enforcement. It prevents persecuted individuals from applying for asylum in Canada.  It will result in the same outcome, putting thousands of people into precarious and vulnerable situations. It also upends privacy laws and creates a backdoor to accessing the private data of individuals. This legislation is a direct attack on civil liberties. The NDP will work with civil society, refugee and immigration organizations to actively oppose this draconian legislation. This is an excellent summary from the Guardian on Bill C-2:

CBC News: Are there 'snooping provisions' in Carney's massive border bill?

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, who has a background in asylum and human rights law, said he would never advance a bill that threatens civil liberties.

"It needed to be in line with the values of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms," he said the day the bill was tabled. "I fundamentally believe that we can strike a balance that, while expanding powers in certain instances, does have the safeguards and the protections in place like protecting individual freedoms or rights."

The NDP's Kwan isn't convinced.

"I know the minister says this and believes it," she said. "But in reality, if you look at the bill, the minister is creating a situation where your personal info is being disclosed without your consent."

Canadian Press: Critic calls out border bill's proposed new cabinet powers on immigration

OTTAWA — An NDP critic says a provision in the federal government's border security bill that would give cabinet the power to cancel immigration documents is an attempt to "mimic" measures deployed by the Trump administration in the U.S.

"It seems to me … this piece of legislation is Canada's attempt to mimic some of those measures that the United States is adopting. I actually never thought that this day would come where Canada would go down that road," B.C. NDP MP Jenny Kwan told The Canadian Press.

Kwan said the proposed new power is "concerning" because cabinet decisions are made in secret and there's no firm definition of an "emergency" in the legislation.

"I don't accept that the Liberals say, 'Don't worry, we're the good guys, so trust us.' I'm sorry, that is just not acceptable," she said, adding there's no way to know what a future government might do with this power.

Toronto Star: Opinion

Border bill primed to give Mark Carney’s government sweeping new powers. Who asked for this?

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first piece of legislation pulls away the welcome mat for asylum seekers. It makes it nearly impossible for those who have been in Canada for more than a year, either as students, permanent residents, or temporary workers, and those who’ve snuck into Canada between land border crossings and have been here for more than two weeks, from having their asylum cases heard.

“A lot of people are going to get rejected because they’re not going to have an opportunity to explain for themselves why they would be in danger when they go back (home),” said Adam Sadinsky, an immigration and refugee lawyer with Silcoff Shacter in Toronto.

On Parliament Hill, the NDP’s Jenny Kwan described the law as “violating people’s due process and taking away people’s basic rights,” and also noted that it will drive people underground.

Toronto Star: Carney government introduces bill to beef up border security

NDP MP Jenny Kwan said the bill should be “alarming” to Canadians and risks breaching their civil liberties, particularly for its changes on immigration.

“They are trying to create this illusion that Canada’s border is more secure in some way, but however, a lot of the components within the bill targets Canada’s own immigration policies and processes that has nothing to do with the United States,” she said, questioning why there were no measures specifically targeting illegal guns coming from the U.S., for example.

“There are lots of pieces that I think should be concerning to Canadians.”

Anandasangaree, a former human rights lawyer, defended seeking those new powers Tuesday.

“I worked my entire life in the protection of human rights and civil liberties. That’s a marquee part of the work that I’ve done before politics, in politics,” he told reporters.

Globe & Mail: Border bill would give authorities sweeping security powers and restrict asylum claims

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan told reporters that the bill could drive people whose visa applications have been cancelled or asylum claims unheard to live underground without documents. She also raised privacy concerns about proposals in the bill to allow government departments - including the immigration department - to share people’s personal information.

“I’m very concerned that those who have submitted claims in the immigration system will, all of a sudden, find their application being withdrawn,” she added.

In addition to the asylum changes, the bill also proposes new powers to border and law enforcement agencies.

The bill would give police and intelligence services enhanced power to access electronic information, in some cases without a warrant granted by a court.

iPolitics: Feds introduce border security bill to address ‘irritants’ for White House

NDP MP Jenny Kwan, the party’s critic for immigration and public safety, said the bill “should be alarming to many Canadians.”

“What we’re looking at is the government giving authority, broad-sweeping authority within government to cancel applications, to withdraw applications, to suspend applications, even those that are already in the inventory that is under process,” Kwan said of the proposed changes to the immigration system. “The other thing that the bill would enable is for people’s private information to be shared, and much of this authority is not prescribed in the legislation, but rather it will come out later on by regulation. So, that is to say we actually don’t even know how it is going to work.”

“I am very concerned that people’s privacies would be breeched. I’m very concerned that those who have submitted claims in the immigration system will, all of a sudden, find their application being withdrawn. And so, these are some of the measures that the government is bringing forward with this bill.”

The Conservatives did not respond to iPolitics‘ questions regarding whether they would support the proposed legislation.

Global News: Canada aims to tighten asylum rules, combat fentanyl with new border bill

NDP public safety critic Jenny Kwan took particular issue with the proposed government powers to suspend immigration applications and enhanced information sharing, which she called “alarming,” as well as the lack of a clear appeals process.

“They’re putting in all kinds of limitations, really trying to effectively prevent people from accessing asylum claims here in Canada,” she told reporters in Ottawa.

“Canada may as well just say to the international community, ‘We no longer support asylum seekers.’ They may as well just be honest about that.”