World News | Canadian Court Invalidates Asylum Agreement with the US
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. A Canadian court Wednesday invalidated the country's Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States, ruling elements of the law violate Canadian constitutional guarantees of life, liberty and security.
Toronto, Jul 22 (AP) A Canadian court Wednesday invalidated the country's Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States, ruling elements of the law violate Canadian constitutional guarantees of life, liberty and security.
But Federal Court Justice Ann Marie McDonald delayed the implementation of her decision six months.
“I conclude that the provisions enacting the (safe third country agreement) infringe the guarantees in section 7 of the Charter," McDonald wrote in her decision, referring to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, part of Canada's Constitution.
“I have also concluded that the infringement is not justified under section 1 of the Charter.”
Under the agreement, immigrants who want to seek asylum in Canada and present themselves at ground ports of entry from the United States are returned to the US and told to seek asylum there.
But if they request asylum on Canadian soil at a location other than an official crossing, the process is allowed to go forward.
In most cases, the refugees are released and allowed to live in Canada, taking advantage of generous social welfare benefits while their asylum applications are reviewed, a process that can take years.
Last fall Amnesty International, the Canadian Council for Refugees and the Canadian Council of Churches sued, arguing that the Canadian government has no guarantee that those returned to the United States will be safe because of the Trump administration's treatment of immigrants.
The legal challenge cited the widespread detention of asylum seekers who are turned back from Canada and the separation of parents and children as other examples of why the US is not a “safe” country for newly arrived immigrants. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)