Major immigration bill amended by Senate

A major immigration bill under its third reading by the Senate has been subject to amendments, including one to protect the privacy of permanent residents and Canadian citizens, and another to provide oversight oversight to the proposed limitations on asylum claims.

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The Senate adopted an amendment moved by Senator Paulette Senior to protect the privacy of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, by exempting them from the increased information-sharing provisions in the bill, which would allow the immigration department to share personal information with other agencies.

In another amendment which has been adopted by the Senate, moved by Senator Tony Dean, the immigration department would be required to provide to Parliament an annual report detailing for each year

• the average number of days between the day an asylum claimant entered Canada and the day on which they made their asylum claim;
• the number of asylum claimants whose claims were found to be ineligible on account having been made over a year after their having entered Canada (post-one-year claimants);
• the proportion of post-one-year claimants who had entered and re-exited Canada;
• the number of post-one-year claimants who applied for pre-removal risk assessments (PRRAs), along with the number of post-one-year claimant PRRA applications that had been allowed and the number that had not been allowed; and
• any recommendations for changes to the ineligibility criteria for asylum claims.

The first annual report would have to be prepared five years after the coming into force of that section.

A third amendment, also moved by Senator Dean, would require that after five years a parliamentary committee undertake a comprehensive review of the operation and effect of all changes made by the proposed Act, setting out any recommended changes, and submit that report to Parliament within a year.

As of the time of writing, the Senate is continuing to debate the bill, and senators may propose additional amendments a future sittings of the Senate.

If the bill passes its third reading in the Senate, since it has been amended, it will be sent back to the House of Commons, where it would then need to pass three additional readings before being able to become law.

The bill contains the most significant immigration reforms in the past twenty years.

Bill C-12, "An Act respecting certain measures relating to the security of Canada’s borders and the integrity of the Canadian immigration system and respecting other related security measures," would provide the government with sweeping executive powers.

Should the bill become law, the Governor in Council will have the power to cease the acceptance of immigration applications for processing, as well as to suspend or terminate the processing of immigration applications.

The Governor in Council would also have the ability to cancel, vary, or suspend immigration documents, such as permanent residence cards, work permits, and study permits, as well as the ability to impose conditions on temporary residents.

The exercise of these powers is limited by the bill to situations considered to be in the public interest, which the bill defines as matters defined as pertaining to “administrative errors, fraud, public health, public safety or national security.”

C-12 also contains numerous reforms to Canada’s asylum system, including a ban on asylum claims submitted more than one year after the claimant’s entry to Canada, and a ban on asylum claims submitted by claimants who’ve irregularly entered Canada from the United States.

C-12 follows on other legislation passed under the Carney government that grants expansive powers to the executive branch, such as Bill C-5, which granted the Governor in Council the ability to fast-track approval for choice “national interest projects,” such as pipelines, mines, power plants, and railways.

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