{"id":11794,"date":"2025-11-22T16:59:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T19:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/11\/22\/liberals-hoped-their-border-bill-would-quickly-pass-now-theyre-aiming-for-next-year\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T16:59:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T19:59:48","slug":"liberals-hoped-their-border-bill-would-quickly-pass-now-theyre-aiming-for-next-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/11\/22\/liberals-hoped-their-border-bill-would-quickly-pass-now-theyre-aiming-for-next-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Liberals hoped their border bill would quickly pass. Now they\u2019re aiming for next year"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>  One of Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s first orders of business after securing a win during the spring federal election was to introduce a border security bill.It was heralded by Liberals as a signature piece of legislation to help harden the 49th parallel and advance a trade deal with the White House.Fast-forward five months: Trade talks have soured and the bill has gone through the wringer when it comes to public criticism, been split in two and faced further calls for amendments.With opposition parties questioning both bills, the Liberals are looking at a battle to fufil a key election promise and get them through a minority Parliament.\u201cThey have a disaster on their hands,\u201d said NDP MP Jenny Kwan.The fight comes as Canada hosts a meeting of G7 security ministers this weekend in Ottawa where border security and immigration are likely to be raised.Here\u2019s where things stand.The original Strong Borders Act, Bill C-2, was introduced in June and came in response to sustained pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who justified his trade war citing concerns about the southbound flow of migrants and fentanyl.The legislation included measures that would update surveillance powers for security and intelligence agencies, tighten the asylum claim system and clamp down on the chemicals used to make illicit drugs.It\u2019s in addition to the more than $1 billion in new spending on border security Ottawa has committed to, including purchasing surveillance technology like drones and better staffing both the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency.The initial bill received praise from police chiefs across the country, the fentanyl czar and child protection advocates.It also attracted accusations of government overreach. More than 300 civil society organizations called on the Liberals to withdraw the bill, saying it threatened freedoms, refugee and migrant rights and the privacy of all Canadians.Bill is splitLast month, the Liberals made the move to split the bill in hopes of getting some of the border protection-specific measures through Parliament and into law more quickly, with a promise to return to the more contentious issues down the road.The new legislation essentially lifts elements out of the old bill, including the drug control elements and provisions around the immigration and refugee system, and drops them into what\u2019s now been introduced as Bill C-12.WATCH |  Liberals introduce 2nd border bill:Liberals introduce 2nd border bill without \u2018contentious elements\u2019 of 1st onePublic Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Wednesday the Liberal government has introduced a second border security bill that contains several measures from Bill C-2 tabled in June. The government will still pursue passage of the first bill, which contains controversial new powers to search mail and access personal information.The lawful access measures, which would give authorities faster and more reliable access to personal information in investigations, remain in what\u2019s left of Bill C-2.The bills are now moving on two separate legislative tracks, with Bill C-12 going first.But the Conservatives and NDP have flagged serious concerns with both, hinting at a parliamentary showdown in the months to come.\u2018Amend the heck\u2019 out of C-12On Thursday, Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner vowed to \u201camend the heck\u201d out of Bill C-12 at committee next week, arguing the measures targeting the asylum system don\u2019t go far enough.Her proposed changes include a ban on asylum claims from people who travelled from an EU country or a G7 member country. Canada already turns back back most asylum claimants if they arrive from the U.S. under the Safe Third Country Agreement.The veteran Calgary MP said she\u2019d also move to include an amendment denying access to social benefits, except emergency medical treatment, for those with a failed asylum claim. \u201cI think everybody in Canada, every political stripe, should be deeply concerned with public polling data that shows that Canadians are losing faith in the immigration system,\u201d she said during a news conference on Parliament Hill.Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner wants changes made to C-12 before she backs it. (Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press)She said if the Liberals \u201care serious about restoring confidence\u201d in Canada\u2019s immigration system they would \u201csteal these ideas\u201d and amend the bill.\u201cWe\u2019re right on a precipice in Canada right now,\u201d she said.Government House leader Steven MacKinnon appeared to shoot that down, saying the Conservatives are \u201cfull of hot air.\u201d\u201cThis bill was presented to the last Parliament, in terms of the immigration measures, and they stalled and sat on it and filibustered and didn\u2019t deal with it\u201d he said Thursday afternoon.\u201cThis could have been dealt with a year ago, and it\u2019s time to move on from that kind of nonsense.\u201dNDP wants substantial changes Bill C-12 is being studied by both the public safety and immigration committees. They both are made up of four Liberals, four Conservatives and one Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois MP. If the government and Official Opposition MPs vote along party lines at committee then the balance of power rests with the Bloc.The Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois did not respond to a CBC News request for comment on whether it will support Bill C-12 as-is, side with the Conservative changes or float its own.But in recent years, Bloc MPs have argued for a tougher asylum regime.The NDP does not have official party status in the House and therefore doesn\u2019t sit on committees, but plans to present its own amendments.WATCH | Border bill \u2018alarming,\u2019 says Kwan:Border bill \u2018should be alarming\u2019 to Canadians, says NDP criticSpeaking in the foyer of the House of Commons after question period Tuesday, Vancouver East NDP MP and immigration and citizenship critic Jenny Kwan said she is concerned by the proposed Liberal border bill and the effects it could have on people immigrating to, and seeking asylum in Canada.Kwan, the party\u2019s immigration and public safety critic, said she doesn\u2019t see a world where the NDP would support Bill C-12 as-is or with the amendments the Conservatives are proposing.She argues the bill tramples over refugees\u2019 rights. If it passes, asylum claims would also have to be made within a year of entering the country, including forinternational students and temporary residents.It allows officials to cancel, suspend or change immigration documents immediately, pause the acceptance of new applications and cancel applications already in process if deemed in the public interest.\u201cThis is unbelievable to me that the government is proceeding with such draconian measures that puts people\u2019s lives in jeopardy,\u201d Kwan said.Liberals call for Conservative supportOn Wednesday, the Liberals put Bill C-2 back in the spotlight and accused the Conservatives of \u201cchoosing to delay public safety\u201d by not supporting the bill.\u201cWe\u2019re willing to make sure that the language that\u2019s in the legislation is strengthened. We know it\u2019s not perfect, but we also know that we have a process that can make it even better,\u201d Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, the sponsor of both bills, said during a news conference.\u201cCanada remains the only Five Eyes country not to have a lawful access regime. In fact, our laws are at least 30 years old, and we risk being left far behind.\u201dHe pointed to a recent report from one of the country\u2019s intelligence watchdogs which warned that agencies like the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service face (CSIS) \u201csignificant challenges\u201d detecting and responding to security threats due to limits around lawful access.Responding the next day, Conservative public safety critic Frank Caputo suggested the Liberals can anticipate proposed amendments to Bill C-2, saying he doesn\u2019t believe the bill\u2019s most controversial elements around access to Canadians\u2019 information were \u201csufficiently consulted on.\u201d\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a barrier on Conservatives\u2019 end. It\u2019s a barrier on Canadians\u2019 end,\u201d he said.\u201cIt has sweeping measures in it. It seems to me that the Liberals didn\u2019t do their appropriate consultations with constitutional lawyers. Conservatives aren\u2019t opposed to appropriate constitutionally compliant legislation.\u201dWATCH | From June: Bill C-2 faces privacy concerns:Strong Borders Act raises concern about police access to personal dataCivil liberties groups are concerned that the federal government\u2019s Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act, will give law enforcement agencies sweeping new powers, such as making it easier for police to search internet activity and data without a warrant or a person\u2019s knowledge.Kwan said her party\u2019s seven MPs won\u2019t support C-2 citing privacy and civil liberty concerns.\u201cThe government made a promise to Canadians that they want to create safer borders, which Canadians support. NDP members support it as well. However, they brought in the piece of legislation that goes far and above,\u201d she said.\u201cI don\u2019t think Canadians signed up for that.\u201dA spokesperson for Anandasangaree said there is still hope to get both bills passed, but acknowledged some language may change.The minister\u2019s office didn\u2019t give a timeframe, only saying the hope is to have Bill C-12 passed next year, with C-2 to follow.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s first orders of business after securing a win during the spring federal election was to introduce a border security bill.It was heralded by Liberals as a signature piece of legislation to help harden the 49th parallel and advance a trade deal with the White House.Fast-forward five months: Trade talks [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,123,1],"tags":[116,122],"class_list":["post-11794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-indigenous","category-saskatchewan","category-uncategorized","tag-indigenous","tag-saskatchewan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}