Canada urged to suspend refugee pact with U.S. over persecution fears
Global News
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association and other advocate groups are urging the federal government to immediately pause the Safe Third Country Agreement.
Several civil society groups are calling on Ottawa to suspend a refugee pact with the United States over concerns for the safety of transgender and gender-diverse people.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers and Rainbow Railroad are urging the federal government to immediately pause the Safe Third Country Agreement.
Under the agreement, which took effect in 2004, Canada and the United States recognize each other as safe places for refugees to seek protection.
It means Canada can turn back potential refugees who arrive at the land border because the agreement states they must pursue a claim in the U.S. — their country of first arrival — unless they qualify for an exemption.
The civil society groups say U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent move to suspend his country’s refugee admissions program leaves some LGBTQ+ people stranded in precarious circumstances.
The groups want Canada to issue a moratorium on removals to the U.S. for those who would face an increased risk of detention there, or could be returned to the countries they have fled.
They also call on Canada to create an exemption under the Canada-U.S. agreement for transgender and gender-diverse claimants, and for those fleeing gender-based violence, until the agreement is suspended.
“Canada cannot, in good conscience, continue to turn away refugees at the Canada-U.S. border knowing the heightened risks of deportation they face if returned to the U.S.,” the groups say in a letter to Immigration Minister Marc Miller made public Friday.
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