QUESTION PERIOD — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
United States--Safe Third Country Agreement
June 22, 2020
Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, I ask this question on behalf of Senator Jaffer. It is regarding the Safe Third Country Agreement Canada has with the United States.
According to the 2004 agreement, Canada and the United States recognize each other as safe places for refugees seeking protection. However, with all the information we have about the inhumane detention cells or cage-like structures used to house people seeking refuge in the U.S.; the thousands of children who were separated from their parents, some of whom went missing; and the problematic way that U.S. law enforcement personnel treat African Americans and other people of colour, it’s clear that the U.S. is not safe anymore.
The question is: When will our government stop returning vulnerable people and their children to a place where the persecution they ran away from continues? Their lives and the lives of their children are at stake. Will the government consider repealing or amending this agreement?
Thank you for the question. It’s an important one. The government has been working closely with its counterparts in the United States to make sure that persons who may be turned away from Canada are treated properly in the United States. No one can be happy with the reports that we’ve heard about how migrants and others are treated in those detention centres. It is the position of Canada that this is not an acceptable situation and efforts are being made — and have been, I think, to some degree successful — to ensure that is not the fate that befalls those who may not qualify for admission to Canada.
