Refugee rights
What’s wrong with the Safe Third Country Agreement?
The Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) is an agreement that was made effective in 2004 between the United States and Canada, recognizing each other as safe countries for refugees. Further, it states that refugee claimants must make their claim in the first safe country they arrive in, Canada or the United States. This effectively deems people who are seeking asylum in Canada ineligible if they are entering at a land or water border. While it used to only apply to official border crossings, hence the large number of people arriving at irregular crossings such as Roxham Road, those crossings are now also included under the STCA which, of course, has had devastating impacts on asylum seekers. Exceptions are only made for those who have family members already in Canada, unaccompanied minors who do not have a parent or guardian in either Canada or the U.S., those who hold valid Canadian visas, or those who face the death penalty in their country or the U.S.
Advocates in Canada have criticized this agreement since its inception because the designation of the U.S. as a safe country for refugees is not accurate. The U.S. has shown concerning rates of refoulement (forcible return of refugee claimants) and overwhelming evidence of human rights violations in immigration detentions. Additionally, women are disproportionately affected by the STCA, as the U.S. does not have strong protection mechanisms for claims involving gender-based violence – an area that is more developed in Canadian refugee policy.
Faith-based organizations, including Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ), have been calling on the Canadian government to honour its international obligations to refugee protection and to repeal the STCA due to its devastating impacts on asylum seekers. CPJ has published reports such as Reclaiming Protection (2018) and Slamming the Door (2020), delving into the implications of the STCA and calling for its repeal. More recently, in partnership with International Justice Mission Canada, CPJ published A Call to Strengthen Canada’s Protection to Central American Survivors of Gender-Based Violence (2022).
Current rulings
The strongest action against the STCA has come in the form of legal action. The Canadian Council of Churches (CCC), the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR), and Amnesty International have launched two important litigations since the implementation of the STCA, challenging the designation of the U.S. as a safe country. The challenges focus on section 7 and section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section 7 of the Charter protects the right to life, liberty and security of the person, which the plaintiffs argue is violated by the STCA through the high risk of detention and deportation that refugees face when returned to the U.S. Section 15 declares the right to equal protection without discrimination, including on the basis of gender. On this front, plaintiffs argue that the STCA disproportionately affects women and girls seeking asylum because Canada returns them to a country with inadequate refugee protections and high refoulement rates for those refugee claims that are based on gender-based violence.
The most recent legal case was heard at the Supreme Court of Canada in October 2022. On June 16, 2023 the Supreme Court delivered its decision to dismiss the section 7 appeal and refer the section 15 appeal back to the Federal Court. While this case is important, advocacy efforts should continue being directed at the Canadian government. Regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision on the legality of the STCA, the government could still choose to end the agreement to act in accordance with its international commitments to refugee protection. While claiming to be an international leader in welcoming refugees, Canada continues to restrict pathways to access asylum in-country, putting thousands of asylum seekers in grave danger. As Christians, we should call on our elected officials and institutions to embrace principles of hospitality and mercy, especially towards those who face imminent threats if they were to be deported. As faith communities we have a unique responsibility, beyond civic duty, to be faithful to God’s long-standing directive to correct the oppression of those who have been unwelcomed and denied justice.
