Canada's Bill C-12 To Tighten Asylum Rules, Broaden Government's Control: Here's What It Means For Indians

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Canada, on 26 March (local time), passed a new law that makes it harder for some foreign nationals to get an asylum hearing if they have been living in the country for more than a year. A move that critics warn could result in real refugees being sent back to unsafe situations, the Globe and Mail reported.

Bill C-12 is“An Act respecting certain measures relating to the security of Canada's borders and the integrity of the Canadian immigration system and respecting other related security measures.”

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Last month, Canada's Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said that changes in the immigration and border bill, also known as Bill C-12, were aimed in part to tackle a surge in misuse of the country's asylum system.

Here's what would change under Bill C-12:

Under Bill C-12, all those people who make an asylum claim after living in Canada for over a year would be fast-tracked for deportation and would no longer be eligible for an asylum hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board, an independent tribunal that is responsible for hearing refugee claims. This will include international students as well. However, those people would be able to seek a risk assessment before deportation, which would be carried out by an official of the immigration department.

The new law also allows the federal government to cancel, change, or suspend large numbers of immigration documents at once, including visas.

According to the Immigration Minister, the law would give the federal government a new power to tackle fraud. Additionally, it would allow the federal government to share immigration information with provinces, including details regarding naturalized Canadian citizens born outside Canada and permanent residents. It will also allow provincial and territorial governments to share immigration department client information with foreign organisations, but only with written approval from the department.

Indians to be impacted the most?

The Times of India report suggests that Bill C-12 is likely to impact Indians the most, since New Delhi is Canada's largest source country of skilled workers among immigration categories. According to official data, over 500,000 Indians were studying in Canada in 2024, and accounted for roughly 40% of the total international student population.

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The development comes after the country has witnessed a surge in asylum claims, especially from international students, who have been bearing the brunt of immigration restrictions in the past few years. This includes those who are facing deportations because their study permits to stay in the country are running out. According to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, over the past year, roughly 17 percent of asylum claims came from students.

Human rights group condemns Bill C-12

According to Al Jazeera, human rights groups in Canada have condemned the bill, which, according to them, "marks a significant attack on refugee and migrant rights” in the country. Over two dozen organisations, in a statement on Friday, warned that the newly passed bill is expected to put thousands of people "at risk of persecution, violence, and precarity."

According to the Times of India, the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association (CILA) also flagged serious reservations about the law and noted that the federal government will have the power to cancel immigration documents or halt applications whenever it deems it to be in 'public interest,' a term which is undefined in the Act.

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