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that those who have submitted claims in the immigration system will, all of a sudden, find their application being withdrawn,” she added.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