The Canadian Supreme Court is hearing an unusual case this month. A group of immigration activists are asking the court to rule that the United States can not be considered a “safe third country” for the purposes of the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) enacted between the two countries nearly two decades ago. In essence, the plaintiffs are asking the court to strike down the STCA. This would mean that any migrants seeking asylum in Canada after having passed through the United States could not be turned away. The plaintiffs assert that United States detention centers are “inhumane” and migrants can not be assured of their “right, liberty and security of the person” (under the Canadian charter). Canadian courts have been handed this question before but the Canadian government has always sided with America. (BBC)
Canada’s Supreme Court has heard for the first time a Canada-US asylum pact case that will weigh whether the country can consider its southern neighbour “safe” for those seeking refugee status.
The outcome could determine whether Canada can trust that the US treats migrants properly, and could answer whether Canada holds any responsibility for migrants turned back at its border.
At the heart of the matter is the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) – a pact between the two countries in place since 2004 that requires refugee claimants to request protection in the first “safe” country they reach.
I agree with Canada. Let’s stop busing illegal migrants to Washington and Chicago and send them all to Toronto.
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Of course, I say that at least partly tongue-in-cheek, but it’s a pretty offensive position to be taking if you’re a Canadian. The United States has always been “safe” enough for them to do business with as their largest trading partner by a massive degree. The amount of American goods and cash that flows north over the border is staggering.
Also, America was always “safe” enough to be trusted with taking care of Canada’s defenses against potential foreign invaders. The United States military umbrella over Canada has allowed them to save vast amounts of money by not establishing a military structure much larger than what was required to arrest a bunch of truck drivers who were unhappy with Justin Trudeau’s policies.
When the pandemic hit, Canada slammed their border with America shut. At the time, nobody was saying much about it (well, almost nobody) since almost everyone was doing it despite the fact that we were repeatedly told that travel bans are racist. When they finally felt it was convenient, they reopened the border. Later, the Canadian government admitted that the travel ban had “no scientific basis.”
The point is that our two countries have had to put up with all sorts of inconveniences in the modern era, long after all of that unpleasantness in the early 1800s. We’ve somehow always managed to make things work. For at least some of us, that arrangement is likely looking less desirable as the Canadian government slides further and further into socialism.
We already have one hot war making everyone uneasy and a couple more that could flare up at any moment. Is this really the time when the Canadians want to start a diplomatic dust-up with us? If their courts (and by extension their government) want to declare America to be too “unsafe” for migrants, there are plenty of other benefits they receive from us that could be lumped into the “unsafe” category if need be.
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