The federal government introduced new legislation Tuesday that aims to both strengthen and streamline the immigration process, including new limits on asylum claims, while also cracking down on cross-border fentanyl trafficking.
The proposed bill addresses not only several of the border security priorities highlighted by Prime Minister Mark Carney, but also some of the longstanding complaints voiced by U.S. lawmakers, diplomats and Canadian police organizations.
“This new legislation will ensure Canada has the right tools to keep our border secure, combat transnational organized crime and fentanyl, and disrupt illicit financing,” Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree told reporters in Ottawa after tabling the legislation.
The minister said he planned to brief U.S. border czar Tom Homan on the new legislation in a meeting later Tuesday, and acknowledged it addresses some issues that have been “irritants for the U.S.”
He added it will likely play into ongoing negotiations with the Trump administration on a new security relationship that Carney has been pursuing.
“It’s not exclusively about the United States,” Anandasangaree said.
“This is about delivering a win for Canada and ensuring that our borders are safer, our communities are safer, and of course we’re responding to some of the concerns that have been posed by the White House.”
Anandasangaree said the new bill, dubbed the Strong Borders Act, builds upon the $1.3-billion border security package announced last December that saw the appointment of a fentanyl czar and new equipment for the RCMP at the border, among other measures.
No new funding is attached to the bill.
Under the proposed legislation, anyone who makes an asylum claim more than a year after arriving in Canada would not see their claim referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board.
Those entering Canada across the U.S. land border under the Safe Third Country Agreement will have just 14 days to make an asylum claim in order to be considered.
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