Liberal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree has introduced a bill aimed at improving Canada's immigration system and beefing up border security. The Strong Borders Act would give the government new powers to pause or cancel the acceptance and processing of applications for matters of "public health or national security."To protect the asylum system against a sudden increase in claims, the bill would make it so claims made more than one year after the applicant arrives in Canada are not referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board — even if they are students or temporary residents. The same would apply to claims made more than 14 days after coming to Canada from the United States via land between official ports of entry.That being said, those who are deemed ineligible would still be able to apply for a pre-removal risk assessment to ensure they are not being returned to a country where they could be harmed..A number of changes have been proposed to "improve and modernize" the system, including simplifying the application process, referring complete claims to the IRB, removing inactive cases from the docket, and speeding up "voluntary departures" by ensuring removal orders are effective immediately after a claim is rejected.The bill also includes measures to protect Canadians from cross-border crime, namely drug trafficking. If passed, law enforcement would be given a slate of new powers, and existing measures would be strengthened."Our government made a commitment to keep our communities safe and work with our American partners to strengthen our border," Anandasangaree said. "The Strong Borders Act will help us tackle organized crime, and further equip our border and law enforcement agencies with the authorities and resources they need to keep our border secure — for both American and Canadian communities.".Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Lena Metlege Diab said the bill would help Canada better "respond to rising migration pressures.""We're improving security at the Canada-US border and making our immigration and asylum systems stronger, more flexible, and responsive to new and developing pressures," she said. "This is about protecting the integrity of our system while building a safer and more resilient Canada."
