No More Asylum Shoppers, Please!

It rarely happens, (not to say - extremely rarely,) but this time the judges have shown some common sense, upholding regulations that restrict asylum shopping.

OTTAWA - The Federal Court of Appeal has reversed a landmark court decision that had struck down an agreement with the United States banning refugee claimants from seeking asylum in Canada if they first passed through U. S. soil.

The appeal court has upheld Canada's "Safe Third Country Agreement," which has been in place since 2004 to put an end to a practice that the federal government has denounced as "asylum shopping" by failed U. S. refugee claimants.

More >>>

Refugee claimants issue have been lacking common sense for decades. In fact, the system became a back door to Canada for those ineligible to obtain a residence permit as skilled workers, students or sponsored relatives.

Apart from a few exceptions, every foreigner is allowed to enter Canada (legally or illegally) and apply for refugee status. Once his claim is accepted, he has the right to healthcare and to social assistance. He can apply for work permit or for a student authorization without leaving the country first (unlike any other legal visitors). Even if he commits a crime - he can't be deported until his final appeal is rejected.

The processing usually takes a couple of years. If a refugee status is granted - the applicant gets his permanent residence papers almost automatically, with no need to demonstrate language or employment skills which the independent-class immigrants must posses. If not - well you've probably heard of tens of thousands of deportation orders that are still outstanding...

So what was the Safe Third Country Agreement all about? The government merely wanted to disqualify migrants who enter Canada from States from claiming refugee status. It's common sense - if one's goal is to flee his home country, then he should ask for asylum as soon as he crosses the border or at the least - as soon as he arrives to a country that is democratic and that accepts refugees. There's absolutely no reason why Canada should accept refugee claimants that travel from one country to another in search of better living conditions or higher social assistance.

So I'm glad that the Federal Court of Appeal has upheld the Safe Third Country Agreement with US. If anything - Canada should strike a similar deal with EU and with other democratic nations. Also I'd like to see the government revising some of the rules, particularly - eliminating the "undocumented refugee" class (no airline will ever allow anyone without a passport or a visa to board the plane), allowing to deport refugee claimants that are caught breaking the law and banning repeat claims altogether.

And if those overpaid bureaucrats from the Immigration and Refugee Board once again get too upset about not getting enough refugee claims to process - how about some layoffs? We have more than enough people abusing the system as it is. Last thing we need is more asylum shoppers.