Under the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), refugee claimants arriving under a formal Canada-U.S. agreement may be turned back and invited to seek asylum in the country where they arrived. Under the agreement, people claiming refugee status must apply in the first country they arrive in, between the United States or Canada, unless they are entitled to an exception. For example, refugee claimants who are citizens of a country other than the United States and who arrive from the United States at the Canada-U.S. land border can only assert their rights in Canada if they fill an exception under the Safe Third Country Agreement. Concerns were expressed about the lack of security legislation to protect refugees in the United States. These security concerns and arguments give refugees legitimate reasons to travel to Canada for a better life. On December 29, 2005, a group of refugee and human rights organizations (in both Canada and the United States) launched a legal challenge to the United States` claim as the third safe country for refugees seeking asylum. This legal challenge was supported by eminent personalities such as Justice Michael Phelan of the Federal Court of Canada on November 29, 2007, and many others. At the last hearing before Stratas Justice, lawyers for this group argued that the government`s claim that there would be an “increase” in new asylum seekers at the border if the deal was cancelled was “speculative” and “hypothetical”.

The Agreement does not apply to U.S. citizens or ordinary residents of the United States who are not nationals of a country (“stateless”). McDonald gave the government until the end of January to prepare for the end of the deal because it realized it was in the public interest not to immediately denounce the deal. On January 30, 2017, Jenny Kwan of the Democratic Party of New Democracy (NDP) proposed an emergency debate on “President Trump`s immigration ban and travel from seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa.” [17] During the debate, the NDP called on the government to immediately suspend the safe third country agreement, citing that “Canada can no longer have confidence that the U.S. refugee system offers refuge to those who are persecuted.” [18] Canada`s official opposition party has stated that it will not oppose the suspension of the agreement[19] while the Green Party of Canada has predicted its support for the suspension of the agreement. [20] People identified with a serious criminal past cannot seek refugee protection, regardless of how they enter the country. . . .