Global Courant
In a unanimous decision Friday, the highest court ruled that the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) between Canada and the United States is, at least in part, constitutional — a legal victory for the federal government that sought to continue the practice of returning refugees who have tried to enter this country from the US
The STCA, a bilateral agreement first signed in 2004, recognizes both Canada and the US as “safe” countries for migrants and states that asylum seekers should seek asylum in the first country they arrive in.
Under this agreement, refugee applicants arriving at an official land port of entry into Canada from the US are not eligible for refugee protection.
Refugee advocacy groups have argued in court that the policy is unconstitutional.
They said viewing the US as a safe country violates Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — which protects an individual’s right to life, liberty and security — because officers indiscriminately send refugees back to the U.S. without regard to a plaintiff’s safety and the state of U.S. detention centers.
The refugee advocacy groups told the top court at a hearing in October that plaintiffs returned to the US are automatically detained, mistreated and sometimes deported.
Judge Nicholas Kasirer, writing for the court, rejected the appeal and Section 7 claims, saying there are “safety valves” in the agreement that are “sufficient to ensure no hardships occur that violate the principles of basic justice.”
However, the court indicated that it may be sympathetic to refugee groups who argue that the policy violates section 15 of the Charter, the section that guarantees equality under the law.
Refugee groups had argued that the US often denies refugee claims citing gender-based violence as the reason for a claim.
Kasirer ordered the case referred back to federal court for a review of the policy in light of equality concerns.
The Federal Court initially agreed with the refugee groups and found the deal unconstitutional.
The government appealed that ruling to the Federal Court of Appeals, which then reversed course, allowing the deal to stand. That prompted refugee groups to take the case to Canada’s final appeals court, which ruled on Friday that the existing agreement can be “tolerated”.
