The Bill empowers the government to cancel, suspend, or change immigration documents including applications, work permits, or study permits under the pretext of an undefined “public interest,” the NFU said.
“Even the Liberal Minister of Justice reports in his Charter Analysis that the new powers to cancel or modify immigration documents could interfere with fundamental provisions for life, liberty, and security that are afforded to all migrants and refugees,” the NFU said in a news release.
The Bill also allows for the deportation of asylum-seeking refugees without a hearing if they entered Canada more than a year ago. Setting time limits on refugee hearings is considered a violation of international law, according to the Migrant Workers Network.
By limiting the time period for claim dates for refugees coming from the United States, the Strong Borders Act would increase the likelihood of their deportation back to the U.S. where they have been subject to extrajudicial policing and a campaign of terror.
Undocumented farm workers in the U.S. have described being "hunted like animals" by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the NFU said.
“The NFU is horrified by ICE’s treatment of migrant food producers in the United States. Apparently as an appeasement to Trump, this Bill threatens to make Canada complicit in the abuse of migrants both here and south of the border,” said NFU president Jenn Pfenning who is an organic farmer between New Hamburg and Baden, Ont.
The NFU has called for the repeal of the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) between Canada and the United States. Refugees should be able to transit between Canada and the U.S. or vice versa in the process of making their refugee claim, it said.
Farmers are concerned that the changes proposed by Bill C-2 will prevent migrants and refugees from building a stable life in Canada, the NFU said.
