Rights groups warn of mass deportations if Bill C-12 is passed unamended

A coalition of 25 human rights organizations is calling on the Senate to reconsider Bill C-12, warning that its swift passage could severely undermine migrant and refugee protections across Canada.

The Common Front Against Bill C-12 and for Migrant Justice is urging senators to adopt recommendations issued February 20 by the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology. The committee’s report called for the removal of Parts 5 through 8 of the bill or the adoption of approximately 10 amendments. Without those changes, the legislation is expected to pass in the coming days.

Advocates say the consequences would be immediate and far reaching.

“If left unamended, it will radically restrict access to refugee status and allow the government to revoke immigration status en masse,” said Stephan Reichhold, Executive Director of the Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes immigrantes.

Action Réfugiés Montréal warns the bill would grant Ottawa sweeping authority to cancel, modify or suspend immigration applications and documents including visas, work permits and study permits. Decisions could be made on the basis of “public interest,” a term critics describe as dangerously vague. Those affected would have no right of appeal.

“In the current context where deportations are reaching record levels in Canada, this provision of Bill C-12 opens the door to a mass deportation regime comparable to what we are witnessing in the United States,” said Nadine Louis, Executive Director of Action Réfugiés Montréal.

“And let us not be fooled: the Canada Border Services Agency has the same mandate as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE.”

Harrold Babon of the Migrant Justice Clinic said senators must ensure Canada upholds its obligations under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

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