Media Release: Response to Prime Minister Carney’s Statement on Public Safety
Media Release: Response to Prime Minister Carney’s Statement on Public Safety
MP Jenny Kwan’s Response to Prime Minister Carney’s Statement on Public Safety
The NDP wants a fair and balanced system that ensures public safety, due process and protects the civil liberties of Canadians. The Carney government’s introduction of Bills C-2 and C-12 are deeply flawed attempts to rebrand executive overreach as ‘border reform’ to appease Trump. These bills would strip away due process for refugee claimants, hand sweeping cancellation powers to the minister, and quietly expand surveillance and data-sharing authorities with minimal oversight. Canada should not let Trump shape our future. Canada’s immigration and privacy systems are being rewritten in ways that undermine fairness, transparency, and fundamental rights. While some of the most extreme elements were watered down in C-12, the core problems remain: too much power in the hands of cabinet, too few safeguards for vulnerable people, and virtually no accountability.
The hiring of 1,000 CBSA officers is a re-announcement that is long overdue. In 2012, the Conservative government, with Pierre Poilievre in cabinet, cut 1,100 border officers in one day, leaving Canada more vulnerable to illegal guns and drugs crossing into Canada. The Liberals have been in government for 10 years and they have failed to act.
The Customs Immigration Union (CIU), representing our CBSA officers, estimates that we currently lack as many as 3,000 border officers across the country. This means that border crossings are consistently operating with reduced staff who just do not have the time, means or support to effectively search for illegal firearms, contraband, stolen vehicles and work with asylum seekers.
The shortage of frontline workers has contributed to an escalation of illegal activities. For example, regarding auto theft at the Port of Montreal - the on-site space available for officers to perform expected inspections is severely limited with only eight officers to search the containers intended for exports.
In Vancouver, the elimination of the Port police by the Conservatives has escalated the drug trafficking problem for our communities.
The announcement today is only the first step.
There is an urgent need of increasing the number of frontline CBSA officers by 3000 as stated by the CIU. Furthermore, the Carney government needs to ensure these officers have the proper working tools and facilities to do their jobs and provide new CBSA training centre for new recruits. The NDP is further calling for the Carney government to bring back the Port police in Vancouver.
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MP Jenny Kwan Statement on Changes to Express Entry
The recent changes reflect the government’s elitist view that the people who make the most money are the most valuable immigrants. This offensive notion that a person’s worth is determined by their salary does not reflect the values of Canadians. Under this approach, workers who fall below the government’s high-wage threshold risk being left behind, including essential workers, caregivers, health-care workers and tradespeople whose contributions are indispensable to our communities and economy. Their value cannot be reduced to the size of a paycheque.
The government is also creating serious risks by offering up to 100 additional Express Entry points for qualifying high-wage job offers without requiring a Labour Market Impact Assessment, or LMIA. The existing LMIA system has already been plagued by fraud, including the illicit buying and selling of assessments. Removing this requirement without demonstrating that equivalent safeguards are in place raises serious concerns about the integrity of the immigration system. Instead of the LMIA process, individual immigration officers will be responsible for verifying whether job offers are genuine and employers are legitimate businesses. This will place additional demands on an already stretched system, create opportunities for fraud and risk increasing processing times.
There is another fundamental concern: without the LMIA process, the government will no longer assess through that mechanism whether Canadians are available to fill these positions. This is an important tool to assess if there is a genuine need to go outside of Canada to fill these positions.
Canada needs an immigration system that values workers fairly, protects people from exploitation and responds to genuine labour-market needs—not one that privileges high earners while leaving essential workers behind.
The government must establish clear, stable pathways to permanent residency for people already in Canada, including international graduates and temporary workers who have contributed to their communities. Immigration selection should reflect the full range of Canada's labour needs, not simply prioritize higher-wage occupations.
We are seeing a pattern of policy lurching on immigration from the Carney government that is creating confusion and chaos for people navigating the system. International students, temporary workers and families make major decisions about education, employment and their futures based on government rules. When those rules repeatedly change, people are left wondering whether their investments and contributions will still count. The government cannot keep moving the goalposts and expect people to plan their lives with confidence. Canada needs a coherent, long-term immigration strategy with predictable pathways, clear objectives and fair transition measures. The immigration system has gone backwards under the Carney government. This government has directly caused chaos on the immigration file.
Despite promises that processing would be completed in 10 days, more than 130 Palestinian students accepted into Canadian universities remain trapped in extreme delay, with some losing their admissions or risking their lives while waiting.
I issued an open letter calling on Ministers Lena Diab and Gary Anandasangaree to immediately address this crisis. The government must apply existing flexibility rules for biometrics in Gaza, conduct a second review of rejected applications relying on generic refusal reasons, and establish a dedicated mechanism to ensure fair, individualized, and timely decisions.