Senator Jaffer: Leader, there is a real migration crisis on the southern border of the United States, with millions of people fleeing persecution, only to face inhumane treatment and detention at the American border and then be sent back. Many years ago, I myself was involved in it as a refugee lawyer when Canada let people from South America enter our country. I had to help work with the Mennonite community to bring them here to Canada. The Canadian government is promising to create a new refugee program for 15,000 migrants fleeing persecution and violence in South and Central America. It’s not enough. More needs to be done. How does the Canadian government plan to respond to this challenge, or will we turn a blind eye to this humanitarian crisis and the violations of human rights associated with it? Thank you.

Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer: Honourable senators, my question is to the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, instead of withdrawing from the Safe Third Country Agreement, Canada and the United States have recently expanded it. The United States is the only country in the world we have a Safe Third Country Agreement with. We’ve had this agreement before, and when the Trudeau government came to power, they stopped using it. We have again reintroduced it.

Now the agreement applies not only to Canada’s land border crossings — not just to official crossings — but also to irregular crossings. However, this agreement is what led to dangerous crossings, such as Roxham Road, in the first place. Expanding it will not prevent irregular migration patterns. It only makes the journey more difficult and perilous.

Like many advocates, I have challenged the most basic assumption of this agreement that the United States is a safe country for refugees seeking protection. It is not. We have seen examples of this on a continual basis. As I earlier said, we had an agreement. Then we stopped using it because we were not happy with the situation in the United States, and now we’ve signed another agreement. The question of whether the United States is a safe country for refugees is currently under the review of the Supreme Court of Canada. It is beyond comprehension why the Canadian government would take this step while the constitutionality of the Safe Third Country Agreement is being challenged. Why does the government find it prudent to expand this agreement while it’s still in the courts? Thank you.