Summary#

This bill is a wide-ranging package on border security, immigration, policing, and money laundering. Its goal is to tighten controls at the border, speed up fair decisions in Canada’s asylum system, crack down on drug precursors and dirty money, and improve information sharing to protect public safety.

• Border officers get clearer access to export goods, and owners of bridges, tunnels, airports, docks, and similar sites must provide Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) facilities at no charge.
• The Health Minister can quickly add drug precursor chemicals to a temporary list; police doing lawful drug and cannabis investigations can be exempt from “conspiracy/attempt” charges tied to those probes.
• The Canadian Coast Guard moves to the Defence Minister, with an added security role and authority to collect, analyze, and share security information.
• Immigration changes include ending the “designated countries of origin” system, setting stricter document deadlines, allowing some claims to be deemed abandoned or withdrawn before referral, and adding two new ineligibility rules for late or irregular claims.
• The government can, in the public interest, pause or stop processing certain immigration applications and cancel, suspend, or vary some visas and permits; officers can require people outside Canada to answer questions or attend exams.
• Anti–money laundering rules get tougher: higher fines, mandatory compliance agreements, new enrolment with FINTRAC, and new information-sharing with the Commissioner of Canada Elections.
• The sex offender registry expands reporting duties and allows CBSA to share travel entry/exit information with law enforcement to prevent or investigate sexual crimes.
• A 5‑year parliamentary review is required.

What it means for you#

• Workers and travelers

  • CBSA can access export goods at shipping sites and warehouses. If you run exports, expect more inspections.
  • If you work at or operate a bridge, tunnel, railway, airport, wharf, or dock that handles international traffic, you must provide space and facilities for CBSA at no cost.

• People seeking refugee protection in Canada

  • No more “designated countries” list. All claims are assessed under the same rules.
  • You must give the documents and information the Minister requires on time and attend any requested interview or exam. If you do not, your claim can be deemed abandoned before it is even referred.
  • If you are not in Canada, your claim or appeal will not start or will be paused. If you return to the country you fled before a decision, your claim or appeal can be deemed abandoned.
  • New ineligibility rules: claims made more than one year after entry (for people who entered after June 24, 2020), and some claims made after irregular entry at the Canada–U.S. land border are ineligible, subject to exceptions set by regulation.
  • Monthly public reporting will show how many removal orders were enforced and why some were delayed.

• Temporary residents, permanent residence and permit applicants

  • The government can order that some types of applications are not accepted, paused, or ended in the public interest (for example, to respond to fraud or security issues). It can also cancel, suspend, or vary some documents and impose new conditions.
  • If you hold a visa, eTA, or permit and are outside Canada, an officer can require you to answer questions truthfully, show documents, or go to an exam (including medical) in some situations.
  • Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) can share certain personal information within the department and with other federal and provincial bodies under written agreements.

• Businesses covered by anti–money laundering rules (banks, credit unions, securities dealers, casinos, money services, payment firms, real estate, dealers, and others listed in law)

  • You must enrol with FINTRAC (if not already required) and keep a risk‑based, effective compliance program.
  • Penalties increase sharply. Serious and very serious violations can reach into the millions; ignoring a FINTRAC compliance order can trigger even higher penalties.
  • FINTRAC may publicly post compliance orders and can share some information with the Commissioner of Canada Elections.

• Law enforcement and communities

  • Police and military police, when designated and acting under the regulations, can be exempt from Criminal Code “conspiracy/attempt/accessory/counselling” drug offences while conducting lawful undercover work.
  • The Coast Guard’s security role expands under the Defence Minister, including security patrols and sharing of security intelligence.
  • Sex offender rules tighten: more details must be reported; CBSA can share entry/exit data with police; and information can be shared to help prevent or investigate sexual crimes.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• It strengthens border security, lets officers reach export goods more easily, and improves coordination by placing the Coast Guard’s security role under Defence.
• It speeds up and stabilizes the asylum system by ending country lists, setting clear document deadlines, discouraging late and irregular claims, and allowing earlier findings of abandonment or withdrawal.
• It improves public safety by helping police run complex drug investigations and by tracking sex offenders’ international movements.
• It fights the opioid crisis by quickly adding new drug precursors to control lists.
• It cracks down on money laundering and sanctions evasion with tougher fines, mandatory compliance fixes, public compliance orders, and better data-sharing, including for possible election-related offences.
• It allows targeted pauses or cancellations of immigration applications to respond quickly to fraud, public health, or security threats, with reporting to Parliament.

Opponents' View#

• Expanded data sharing by IRCC and CBSA may risk privacy or lead to misuse or errors that are hard to challenge.
• The one‑year filing rule and limits on irregular border claims could block protection for people who are traumatized, afraid to come forward, or unsure of the process.
• Letting the government stop or end whole categories of applications, and cancel or vary documents “in the public interest,” may be too broad and create uncertainty for families, students, and workers.
• Moving the Coast Guard to Defence could “militarize” marine services and shift focus away from search and rescue or environmental response.
• Businesses face higher compliance costs and very large penalties; smaller firms could be hit hard by mandatory agreements and public orders.
• Requiring private operators to provide CBSA facilities for free could impose significant costs, which might be passed on to users and travelers.