The Strong Borders Act completed 1st Reading in Parliament. The Backgrounder published by the Government of Canada notes that the Bill will strengthen our laws and keep Canadians safe by ensuring law enforcement has the right tools to secure our borders, combat transnational organized crime, stop the flow of illegal fentanyl, and crack down on money laundering. It will bolster our response to increasingly sophisticated criminal networks and enhance the integrity and fairness of our immigration system while protecting Canadians’ privacy and Charter rights.
It has wide-ranging implications, covering amendments to numerous legislations that impact the border and, specifically, the integrity of cross-border activities, combating illegal drug importation.
With specific reference to immigration, it is noted that the following changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act are proposed:
(a) authorize the Governor in Council to make an order specifying that certain applications made under that Act are not to be accepted for processing, or that the processing of those applications is to be suspended or terminated, when the Governor in Council is of the opinion that it is in the public interest to do so;
This is of considerable importance. For example, numerous applications are processed in categories such as Self-Employed—Start Up Visa. The Annual Immigration Plan does not permit these applications to be processed quickly or in the numbers presently in inventory. Clarification is required as to whether these new powers by way of Regulation could be used, in backlog situations, to pause receiving applications or, in the extreme, cancel applications already in progress in the “public interest.”
It is early in this bill’s progress – additional Readings and committee consideration must be completed.
We will learn more about the actual intent behind these amendments and provide updates in our Impulse Weekly publication.
The content of this bulletin is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on as legal advice.