Country Agreement: Refugees and Asylum

country agreement: Bernard Weil / Toronto Star By Nicholas Keung Immigration reporter Mon., Jan. 30, 2017 Refugee advocates are calling on Ottawa to immediately suspend a U.S.-Canada bilateral pact that bans refugees from crossing the border for asylum, arguing the United States is no longer safe for refugees, according to Toronto Star. The Safe Third Country Agreement came into effect in 2004 to prevent refugees from making asylum claims in both countries, clogging up the system. Advocates are urging Canada to open up further to refugees, in light of the U.S. cutback for 2017. It has significantly slashed the number of claims lodged on both sides of the border. Withdrawing from the agreement would mean all asylum seekers currently in the U.S. could access Canada's refugee system without having to risk their lives by turning to human smugglers, she added. The U.S. was never safe for all refugees and is now even less safe, said Janet Dench of the Canadian Council for Refugees. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.