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The Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act received royal assent on March 26. Rights groups call it the biggest rollback of refugee protections in a decade.
Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, became law on March 26, 2026. The legislation introduces a one-year filing deadline for asylum claims, grants the government power to cancel immigration documents in the "public interest," and restricts claims from people who crossed the border irregularly. Approximately 30,000 refugee claimants have already received notices that their cases may be affected.
Bill C-12, formally titled the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, is the most significant overhaul of Canadian immigration and refugee law in over a decade. It received royal assent on March 26, 2026, after passing through both the House of Commons and Senate.
The legislation makes changes in four key areas: asylum eligibility, document cancellation powers, border enforcement, and immigration compliance. It amends both the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Citizenship Act.
The most consequential change is the introduction of a one-year deadline for filing asylum claims. Under the new law, asylum claims made more than one year after a person’s first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020, will not be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board for a hearing.
This provision retroactively affects people already in Canada. Approximately 30,000 refugee claimants have received procedural fairness letters notifying them that their claims may be deemed ineligible under the new rules.
The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers has called this provision the most troubling element of the bill. Vice-president Adam Sadinsky described C-12 as "the most significant rollback of refugee rights in more than a decade," noting that there is no established link between filing speed and the legitimacy of a claim.
Bill C-12 grants the Minister of Immigration new authority to cancel permanent resident visas, temporary resident visas, work permits, and study permits if the minister determines it is in the "public interest" to do so.
Critics have raised concerns about the breadth of this power. The term "public interest" is not defined in the legislation, giving the minister significant discretion. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association warned that this power could be used to target specific communities or individuals for political reasons.
The government argues the provision is necessary to address cases of fraud and national security concerns that cannot be resolved through existing processes.
The law introduces new restrictions on asylum claims from people who enter Canada between official ports of entry along the Canada-U.S. land border. Under the new rules, individuals who cross irregularly and wait more than 14 days before making an asylum claim will not have their case referred to the IRB.
This provision is aimed at reducing irregular border crossings, which increased significantly in recent years at locations like Roxham Road in Quebec. The government closed Roxham Road in 2023 through an update to the Safe Third Country Agreement, but irregular crossings have continued at other points.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee has warned that the provision may weaken refugee protection by penalizing people for the manner of their entry rather than the merits of their claim.
Bill C-12 passed the House of Commons on December 11, 2025, with support from the Liberals and Conservatives. The NDP’s Jenny Kwan raised concerns about the one-year bar and its impact on vulnerable claimants, but the party’s overall voting position reflected the broader political dynamics around immigration policy in 2025-26.
The Senate passed the bill with no amendments in March 2026, despite calls from refugee advocates and legal organizations to modify the one-year deadline and the document cancellation provisions.
More than two dozen civil society organizations, including Amnesty International Canada and the Canadian Council for Refugees, issued a joint statement calling the bill "an attack on refugee and migrant rights in Canada."
The law is now in effect. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has begun issuing procedural fairness letters to affected claimants, giving them an opportunity to respond before their cases are deemed ineligible.
Legal challenges are expected. The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers has indicated it will challenge the one-year bar and the document cancellation provisions on constitutional grounds, arguing they violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Parliament Audit will track any legal challenges, regulatory developments, and future amendments related to Bill C-12.
In April 2014, the EU's highest court invalidated the Data Retention Directive — a law that required ISPs to retain user metadata for six months to two years. The court found the retention was a "particularly serious" interference with fundamental rights and not "limited to what is strictly necessary." The directive's retention period and category of data are nearly identical to what Bill C-22 proposes for Canada.
Part 2 of the Lawful Access Act, 2026 — the Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act (SAAIA) — creates a new power for the Public Safety Minister to issue capability orders to electronic service providers. The provider must comply. The provider is legally barred from disclosing that the order exists. The Intelligence Commissioner reviews the order for reasonableness. The public does not.
Every recent Canadian lawful-access proposal — from Bill C-30 in 2012 to Bill C-2 last year — included some statutory role for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. Bill C-22 does not. The OPC cannot audit how the retained metadata is stored, cannot review the secret capability orders, and has no investigation power over complaints arising from the new regime. Here is what changed.
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<h1>Bill C-12 Is Now Law: What Canada’s Immigration Overhaul Means for 30,000 Refugee Claimants</h1>
<p><em>By Parliament Audit · April 16, 2026 · 7 min read</em></p>
<p><strong>Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, became law on March 26, 2026. The legislation introduces a one-year filing deadline for asylum claims, grants the government power to cancel immigration documents in the "public interest," and restricts claims from people who crossed the border irregularly. Approximately 30,000 refugee claimants have already received notices that their cases may be affected.</strong></p>
<h2>What Bill C-12 Does</h2>
<p>Bill C-12, formally titled the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, is the most significant overhaul of Canadian immigration and refugee law in over a decade. It received royal assent on March 26, 2026, after passing through both the House of Commons and Senate.</p>
<p>The legislation makes changes in four key areas: asylum eligibility, document cancellation powers, border enforcement, and immigration compliance. It amends both the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Citizenship Act.</p>
<h2>The One-Year Filing Deadline</h2>
<p>The most consequential change is the introduction of a one-year deadline for filing asylum claims. Under the new law, asylum claims made more than one year after a person’s first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020, will not be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board for a hearing.</p>
<p>This provision retroactively affects people already in Canada. Approximately 30,000 refugee claimants have received procedural fairness letters notifying them that their claims may be deemed ineligible under the new rules.</p>
<p>The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers has called this provision the most troubling element of the bill. Vice-president Adam Sadinsky described C-12 as "the most significant rollback of refugee rights in more than a decade," noting that there is no established link between filing speed and the legitimacy of a claim.</p>
<h2>Document Cancellation Powers</h2>
<p>Bill C-12 grants the Minister of Immigration new authority to cancel permanent resident visas, temporary resident visas, work permits, and study permits if the minister determines it is in the "public interest" to do so.</p>
<p>Critics have raised concerns about the breadth of this power. The term "public interest" is not defined in the legislation, giving the minister significant discretion. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association warned that this power could be used to target specific communities or individuals for political reasons.</p>
<p>The government argues the provision is necessary to address cases of fraud and national security concerns that cannot be resolved through existing processes.</p>
<h2>Border Crossing Restrictions</h2>
<p>The law introduces new restrictions on asylum claims from people who enter Canada between official ports of entry along the Canada-U.S. land border. Under the new rules, individuals who cross irregularly and wait more than 14 days before making an asylum claim will not have their case referred to the IRB.</p>
<p>This provision is aimed at reducing irregular border crossings, which increased significantly in recent years at locations like Roxham Road in Quebec. The government closed Roxham Road in 2023 through an update to the Safe Third Country Agreement, but irregular crossings have continued at other points.</p>
<p>The United Nations Human Rights Committee has warned that the provision may weaken refugee protection by penalizing people for the manner of their entry rather than the merits of their claim.</p>
<h2>How Parliament Voted</h2>
<p>Bill C-12 passed the House of Commons on December 11, 2025, with support from the Liberals and Conservatives. The NDP’s Jenny Kwan raised concerns about the one-year bar and its impact on vulnerable claimants, but the party’s overall voting position reflected the broader political dynamics around immigration policy in 2025-26.</p>
<p>The Senate passed the bill with no amendments in March 2026, despite calls from refugee advocates and legal organizations to modify the one-year deadline and the document cancellation provisions.</p>
<p>More than two dozen civil society organizations, including Amnesty International Canada and the Canadian Council for Refugees, issued a joint statement calling the bill "an attack on refugee and migrant rights in Canada."</p>
<h2>What Happens Next</h2>
<p>The law is now in effect. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has begun issuing procedural fairness letters to affected claimants, giving them an opportunity to respond before their cases are deemed ineligible.</p>
<p>Legal challenges are expected. The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers has indicated it will challenge the one-year bar and the document cancellation provisions on constitutional grounds, arguing they violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.</p>
<p>Parliament Audit will track any legal challenges, regulatory developments, and future amendments related to Bill C-12.</p>
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Originally published by <a href="https://parliamentaudit.ca/news/bill-c12-immigration-reform-refugee-rights">Parliament Audit</a>
under the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND 4.0</a> license.
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