{"id":17858,"date":"2025-02-21T22:40:59","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T22:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/21\/canada-urged-to-suspend-refugee-pact-with-u-s-over-persecution-fears-national\/"},"modified":"2025-02-21T22:40:59","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T22:40:59","slug":"canada-urged-to-suspend-refugee-pact-with-u-s-over-persecution-fears-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/21\/canada-urged-to-suspend-refugee-pact-with-u-s-over-persecution-fears-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada urged to suspend refugee pact with U.S. over persecution fears – National"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Several civil society groups are calling on Ottawa to suspend a refugee<\/a> pact with the United States over concerns for the safety of transgender and gender-diverse people.<\/p>\n

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The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers and Rainbow Railroad are urging the federal government to immediately pause the Safe Third Country Agreement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Under the agreement, which took effect in 2004, Canada and the United States recognize each other as safe places for refugees to seek protection.<\/p>\n

It means Canada can turn back potential refugees who arrive at the land border because the agreement states they must pursue a claim in the U.S. \u2014 their country of first arrival \u2014 unless they qualify for an exemption.<\/p>\n

The civil society groups say U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s recent move to suspend his country\u2019s refugee admissions program leaves some LGBTQ+ people stranded in precarious circumstances.<\/p>\n

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The groups want Canada to issue a moratorium on removals to the U.S. for those who would face an increased risk of detention there, or could be returned to the countries they have fled.<\/p>\n

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They also call on Canada to create an exemption under the Canada-U.S. agreement for transgender and gender-diverse claimants, and for those fleeing gender-based violence, until the agreement is suspended.<\/p>\n

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\u201cCanada cannot, in good conscience, continue to turn away refugees at the Canada-U.S. border knowing the heightened risks of deportation they face if returned to the U.S.,\u201d the groups say in a letter to Immigration Minister Marc Miller made public Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must not be complicit in endangering the lives of those fleeing persecution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller\u2019s office said Friday the agreement is carefully designed with safeguards that protect both the border and the needs of those fleeing persecution.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe continue to carefully monitor developments and it is the continued expectation that the U.S behave according to the terms of the agreement that manages our border,\u201d the minister\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n

Trump has also signed an executive order stating that the U.S. recognizes just two genders, male and female.<\/p>\n