Safe Third Country Agreement is constitutional, Supreme Court rules

Supreme Court of Canada on Friday said the between Canada and the United States is constitutional.The Supreme Court in its decision noted that the agreement does not violate Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom – the right to life, liberty and security of a person.The , which came into effect in 2004, recognizes Canada and the U.S.

as safe places for migrants to seek protection.Under the agreement, migrants must seek asylum in the first of the two countries they land in, making it illegal to cross the border and seek asylum in the other country.Opponents of the treaty asked the top court to declare that the legislation underpinning the pact violates the right to life, liberty and security of the person, saying the U.S.

is not actually safe for many asylum seekers.The Canadian government argued to Supreme Court justices that returnees have access to fair asylum and detention processes south of the border.The court said the parties bringing the challenge would have needed to prove any adverse impact on asylum claimants was caused as a result of the Canadian state’s actions.“As Canada has no jurisdiction to dictate the actions of foreign authorities, drawing a causal connection to Canadian state action requires showing that Canadian authorities were implicated in how the harms arose.

Accordingly, challengers will succeed in drawing a causal connection to Canadian state action at least where Canada’s participation is a necessary precondition for the deprivation,” the court said in its judgement.The statement went on, “Further, as Canada cannot foresee all the actions that foreign authorities will take, it must be shown that Canadian authorities knew, or ought to have known, that the harms could arise as a.