Terminate Safe Third Country Agreement

AI summary

Petitioners ask the Minister to declare the U.S. no longer a safe third country, notify intent to terminate the Safe Third Country Agreement, and direct CBSA to stop enforcing it. The government responds that it continues to monitor U.S. developments and considers the Safe Third Country Agreement an important tool.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled Canada is a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol; Canada has a Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States. Under that agreement, it returns to the United States anyone who has requested asylum in the United States; Currently, refugee claimants in the United States, including those who entered the country regularly, are being arrested, detained and deported without due process of law; Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act offers safe haven to persons with a well-founded fear of persecution. The IRPA also requires the continual review of all countries designated as safe third countries to ensure that the conditions that led to that designation continue to be met; and In his recent speech to the World Economic Forum, Prime Minister Carney called for creating "agreements that function as described". However, by implementing the Safe Third Country Agreement, Canada is violating the UN Refugee Convention and its own Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. We, the undersigned, residents and citizens of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to instruct the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to immediately: 1. Report to the Governor in Council that the United States no longer meets the requirements for designation as a safe third country; 2. Notify the United States in writing that Canada intends to terminate the Safe Third Country Agreement in accord with Article 10 of the agreement; and 3. Instruct the Canada Border Services Agency to change its policy so that it no longer enforces the Safe Third Country Agreement, and to stop returning anyone making a refugee claim in Canada to the United States under that agreement.

Government response

Response by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Signed by Peter Fragiskatos, M.P. As a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, Canada is strongly committed to upholding its obligations with respect to international law and refugee protection. We continue to maintain our humanitarian commitments, while working to restore balance to our immigration system by strengthening integrity and sustainability. The Canada–United States Safe Third Country Agreement, and its Additional Protocol, remain important tools for the orderly management of asylum claims made along our shared land border. Section 102(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) permits the designation of safe third countries for the purpose of sharing the responsibility for refugee claims. The United States (U.S.) is the only country designated under IRPA. Per its obligation under section 102(3) of the IRPA, Canada continually monitors developments in the U.S. and the impact that changes in policies and practices may have with respect to the factors that must be considered in designating a third country as listed in s.102(2): whether it is party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1984 Convention Against Torture; its policies and practices with respect to claims under the 1951 Refugee Convention, and its obligations under the 1984 Convention Against Torture; its human rights record; and whether it is party to an agreement with the Government of Canada for the purpose of sharing responsibility with respect to claims for refugee protection. To date, the U.S. remains the only designated safe third country. The Government of Canada uses a robust framework to monitor developments in the U.S. and the impact change in policies and practices may have on its refugee protection system.