So Much For Canadian Sovereignty

Federal court strikes down refugee agreement
Updated Fri. Nov. 30 2007 10:20 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

The United States is not a safe country for refugees, the Federal Court said Thursday as it ruled that Canada will no longer have the right to turn back asylum seekers at the border.

In the surprise judgment, the court found that Safe Third Country Agreement breaches the rights of asylum seekers under the United Nation Refugee Convention or the Convention Against Torture.

The three-year-old agreement denies refugees who have landed first in the U.S. the right to later seek protection in Canada, and vice versa. It has allowed Canada to automatically send refugee claimants at the border back to the United States. There, they are usually either detained or deported.

Activists have long complained that the agreement is unfair and unconstitutional because it requires refugee claims in Canada and the U.S. to be processed in the country where asylum seekers first land.

The court agreed that the agreement discriminates against refugees based on their method of arrival in Canada.

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