Rounding out last week, Canada’s Supreme Court upheld an asylum-seeker pact between the country and the United States to determine whether the contested agreement violates equality rights.
The court sent the case back to federal court for a ruling on whether the agreement breaches asylum seekers’ right to equal treatment under the law.
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Under the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement, which came into effect in 2004, asylum seekers crossing land between the two countries are sent back on the grounds they should apply for asylum in the first “safe” country they arrived in.
The verdict is a partial victory for the Canadian government, keeping the pact in place even as it sets it up for further judicial scrutiny.
Last year, people crossed into Canada believing it has a swifter and more inclusive asylum system than the US. That number was in the tens of thousands, but the heavy influx has strained Canada’s resources and prompted changes to the agreement.
The Supreme Court ruled that built-in safety valves such as public policy exemptions that allow some asylum seekers to remain in Canada mean the agreement does not violate asylum seekers’ right to life, liberty, and security of the person.
Refugee advocates, of course, argue these remedies are not practically available, and that the agreement violates that right because they say the U.S. is less receptive to refugee claims based on gender.
Gauri Sreenivasan, co-executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, which brought the case, called on the government Friday to withdraw from the agreement.
Sreenivasan said, “This is not the refugee system Canadians want.”
Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said Canada has no plans to suspend the agreement, now that the Supreme Court has affirmed its validity.
