The Canada-US refugee agreement should be revisited in light of Trump's Muslim ban, says refugee rights organization in Canada. United States may no longer be a safe third country.
According to the President of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, Mitchell Goldberg, the Safe Third Country Agreement between the United States and Canada needs to be revisited, reports CBC. He added that Trump's executive order may lead to refugee claimants taking riskier ways to enter Canada.
Goldberg stated that the Safe Third Country Agreement presumes that the US is a safe country for refugees. Given that, if refugee status can be given in the US, it is not needed to be requested in Canada.
However, with the recent executive order of Trump that bans the entrance of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, the US is looking to be an unsafe country. This, therefore, warrants a reassessment of the agreement.
The executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, Janet Dench, stated that refugee protection is something that Canada will play a leading role in given the vacuum left by the United States. After the ban was announced, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also tweeted that refugees are welcome in Canada regardless of faith.
To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017
Donald Trump's executive order decreed that citizens from Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq cannot enter the United States for a period of 90 days. Individuals holding dual citizenship are also not exempt from the ban.
The purpose of the ban is for the development of more stringent refugee screening processes. It is also an effort of the new administration to right against Islamic terrorism.
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