Opinion | Carney’s Bill C-12 brings back a dark chapter in Canada’s immigration policy

Representative sample of immigration lawyers’ perspective, overly alarmist IMO in its use of historical examples which have largely been overtaken starting in the 1960s:

…Disturbingly, this aspect of C-12 mirrors historic forms of immigration legislation which systemically violated the human rights of immigrants and refugees on both sides of the border. It is a return to an era of immigration legislation, when, in Canada, highly discretionary powers were used by the Governor-in-Council to impose discriminatory immigration restrictions — also framed as being in the “public interest.” These orders were used to prohibit specific “races,” nationalities, and classes of immigrants, often without parliamentary debate or without having to introduce any amendment to the Immigration Act in place at that time. Some examples of prohibited classes by orders include the 1908 Continuous Journey Regulation — intended to restrict immigration from India and Japan — orders in council restricting Chinese immigration, and the prohibition of immigrants involved in labour strikes, members of the Communist Party, or unemployed persons in 1931.

This dark chapter of Canadian immigration history is generally discussed as a vestige of a bygone era, replaced by an ostensibly modern, merit-based system that protects human rights. But the images of the MV Sun Sea (2010) or the Adriana (2023) boats, filled with migrants abandoned to their fate, are eerily reminiscent of those of the Komagata Maru (1914) and the St-Louis (1939).

The framing of migration as a “border security” issue in Bill C-12 and the broader scapegoating rhetoric targeting immigrants remind us of these past “none is too many” directives, highlighting the fact that immigration policy was of course never simply a bureaucratic process — it has also always been about deciding who, ultimately, is allowed to be recognized as fully human. 

Ironically, it is the very security of those who have found safety in Canada which will be undermined by this bill, allowing for the routine violation of rights protected under the Charter and international law for anyone who is not a citizen. This should concern us all, as it will pave the way for the flagrant rights abuses that we see in the U.S. to take place here: indefinite family separation, skyrocketing deportations and mass violations of due process. In this context, Prime Minister Carney is right to invoke “old relationships.” Except they are far from “over.”

Gwendolyn Muir, Jared Will and Anne-Cécile Khouri-Raphael are lawyers. 

Source: Opinion | Carney’s Bill C-12 brings back a dark chapter in Canada’s immigration policy