MONTREAL, March 2, 2026 /CNW/ - The Common Front Against Bill C-12 and for Migrant Justice, comprising 25 human rights organizations, is imploring the Senate to take into account the recommendations of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (SOCI). On February 20, the committee tabled its report, calling for either the removal of Parts 5 through 8 of Bill C-12 or the adoption of approximately ten amendments. If the SOCI Committee's recommendations are not taken into account, the bill will be passed by the Senate as is in the coming days
The Common Front is sounding the alarm: the adoption of Bill C-12 in its current form will have devastating consequences for the rights of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in Canada. "If left unamended, it will radically restrict access to refugee status and allow the government to revoke immigration status en masse," says Stephan Reichhold, Executive Director of the Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes immigrantes (TCRI).
Action Réfugiés Montréal (ARM) explains that Bill C-12 would give the federal government broad powers, including the ability to cancel, modify, or suspend immigration applications, approvals, or documents such as visas, work permits and study permits. The government would be able to make these decisions solely on the grounds of public interest, a highly vague notion. Those affected would have no recourse. "In the current context where deportations are reaching record levels in Canada, this provision of Bill C-12 opens the door to a mass deportation regime comparable to what we are witnessing in the United States," warns Nadine Louis, Executive Director of ARM. "And let us not be fooled: the Canada Border Services Agency has the same mandate as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)."
"As the winds from the south blow over our immigration policies, we are imploring senators to accept the SOCI Committee's recommendations, so that Canada continues to uphold its international obligations -- such as the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees -- and its own Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms," concludes Harrold Babon, coordinator and community organizer at the Migrant Justice Clinic.
SOURCE Common Front Against Bill C-12 and for Migrant Justice
Interview requests: Ariane Aubin-Cadot, relationniste, [email protected], 514-805-3715
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