The World: U.S. refugee agreement breaches freedoms in Canadian court laws

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 02:38 pm

One of Canada’s top courts ruled Wednesday that an agreement with Washington barring humans from searching for asylum if they arrive from U.S. soil is invalid due to the fact it violates migrants’ rights.

The controversial 2004 deal, recognised as the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), says all of us making use of for asylum in either the United States or Canada must file their utility in whichever us of a they enter first.

However, a federal court judge dominated the pact violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and protection of the individual and the right no longer be disadvantaged thereof,” Judge Ann Marie McDonald wrote, citing the Charter.

The settlement has been repeatedly denounced through rights’ groups, and asylum seekers challenged it through arguing that the United States underneath President Trump should no longer be regarded a “safe” country.

To skirt the rule and warranty their asylum software will be viewed in Canada, tens of thousands of migrants have surpassed into the united states of america through unofficial border crossings such as at Roxham Road, an vicinity on the border between New York and Quebec.

Since Donald Trump became U.S. president in January 2017, tens of thousands of people have crossed from the United States into Canada seeking asylum.

An international rights group praised the court’s decision, claiming the STCA “has been the source of grave human rights violations for many years” and that “cannot be allowed to continue one more day” given the prevalence of COVID-19 in immigration detention centers in the U.S.

Spokesperson for Ministry of Public Safety Bill Blair said the government is evaluating the ruling, noting that it will not go into effect until January 2021. In the meantime, the STCA remains in effect, the spokesperson said.

(CGTN)