Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney have proposed a new Immigration Act, Bill C-49. It would allow the Minister of Public Safety to declare any group of migrants coming in to Canada, a 'smuggling incident'. There is no definition of a 'smuggler' in this Act.
For the asylum seekers who are declared part of an incident (which could be anyone making a refugee claim in a groups of 2 or more), the Conservative government wants to:
Jail them for a minimum of one year
Deny access to health services
Deny monthly detention reviews, allowing migrants in jail a chance to gain freedom only once every 6 months
Be able to revoke people's refugee status after it has been granted by the refugee determination process
Ban applications for permanent residence for five years after gaining refugee status
Bar people from reuniting with their families for five years after gaining refugee status
Stop people from leaving Canada for five years after gaining refugee status
Deny the right of appeal to a rejected refugee claim
Put in an ex-CSIS director and the man responsible for police brutality during the G20 as a special advisor on human migration
B'nai Brith has come out in support of this legislation - the government is using this support to claim that it has the endorsement of the Canadian Jewish Community. We are encouraging members of the Jewish community to speak out against Harper, Kenney and B'nai Brith, and to stand up for the rights of refugees.
