The Safe Third Country Agreement
in 10 Questions
There is hardly a day without news on Roxham Road or the mechanism that gave rise to it, the Safe Third Country Agreement. Most people do not understand why a parallel entry system has been created and tolerated in Canada and, more importantly, why the problem cannot be addressed. La Presse tries to explain this opaque file in 10 questions.
1. What is the Safe Third Country Agreement?An agreement signed in 2002 between Canada and the United States that requires a potential refugee to make their refugee claim in the first safe country they set foot in. The idea is to avoid "shopping" from host countries. A safe country is defined as a country that respects human rights and provides strong protection for asylum seekers.
This agreement, wanted by Canada, is one-way because while migrants on American soil may want to try their luck in Canada, the reverse process is quite rare.
"The United States had no interest in signing an agreement that means that we will send migrants back to them when there are very, very few migrants who pass in the other direction," said François Crépeau, professor of public international law at McGill University.
"But after September 11, 2001, Canada had something to negotiate, which was all the border control security agreements. He asked that the Safe Third Country Agreement be included in the package. And the U.S. has included it. »
2. Does this agreement apply to all ports of entry?No. It covers only customs posts at the land border. It excludes arrivals by plane, boat, but more importantly, crossings that are not at official ports of entry, such as Roxham Road.
"Canada has been fooled somewhere," says Mr. Crépeau.
McGill University Professor of Public International Law François Crépeau
If this agreement only applies to border crossings, it is because the United States knew very well that the day they put it in the agreement, everyone would go through the back door and that they could not be turned away, he says.
3. Why is Roxham Road not illegal?Because the migrants who use it to enter Canada are not illegal. They immediately report to Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers, who are waiting for them at the border. These are people trying to make a refugee claim in Canada rather than in the United States. The current agreement allows them to do so if they avoid a formal port of entry.
4. Are migrants who pass through Roxham Road "fake refugees"?No, no more than the others. Almost half of them will be accepted as refugees after a long process. The acceptance rate for refugee claims made at Roxham Road is slightly lower than for refugee claims registered at official points. In 2018, it was 46%, compared to 55%, and in 2019, it was 50% compared to 59%.
5. Pourquoi le chemin Roxham est-il, de loin, le chemin « irrégulier » le plus populaire au Canada ?Parce que c’est « le chemin le plus organisé », croit Hélène Mayrand, professeure à la faculté de droit de l’Université de Sherbrooke. « Le gouvernement y a installé des infrastructures quasi permanentes. Tout un système a été mis en place pour que la GRC intercepte ces personnes-là. Les passeurs se sont aussi organisés. Il y a une sorte de circuit organisé. »
Mais aussi pour des raisons géographiques : il est proche des grands centres, sans obstacle naturel, comme les Grands Lacs ou les Rocheuses, et d’un accès facile.
6. Depuis des années, le gouvernement canadien renégocie l’Entente sur les tiers
pays sûrs avec les États-Unis. Pourquoi ?
Il veut étendre son application à l’ensemble de la frontière terrestre, de la Colombie-Britannique à la Nouvelle-Écosse, incluant les entrées irrégulières comme Roxham. Un tel changement permettrait au Canada de refouler les personnes qui passent entre les points d’entrée officiels.
Cela équivaudrait, en quelque sorte, à fermer le chemin Roxham. Mais cela exigerait le déploiement de ressources policières pour empêcher l’entrée de demandeurs d’asile par des chemins détournés.
« Comment est-ce que vous voulez contrôler les entrées sur une frontière qui fait plus de 5000 km de long ? lance François Crépeau. Les États-Unis, qui ont un budget dix fois plus gros que le nôtre, n’arrivent pas à empêcher les gens de venir. Comment le Canada peut-il le faire avec une frontière qui est deux fois et demie plus longue que celle entre les États-Unis et le Mexique ? »
7. Cette négociation a-t-elle des chances de porter des fruits ?Not in the short term. Twice in the past, Ottawa has hinted that a deal is within reach with Washington: in December 2021 and December 2022. But in January, federal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said he did not expect a deal to be announced in March as part of President Joe Biden's visit to Canada.
"The U.S. has no interest in changing the agreement," says Crépeau. And Canada doesn't have much left to offer. »
8. Can Canada decide alone to terminate the Agreement?Yes. "The agreement includes measures for the parties to amend and terminate it," says Hélène Mayrand. Both Canada and the United States may suspend it without any formality other than to give written notice to the other party. »
9. Couldn't Roxham be shut down instead?This is the solution advocated by Premier François Legault. But it is not without consequence.
François Crépeau is categorical: "The solution of closing Roxham Road or expanding the Safe Third Country Agreement makes no sense. It won't solve anything at all. Migrants will move elsewhere. All it does is it sends these people back into deeper hiding. It strengthens the criminal networks that exploit them and allows people who promise to take them across the border to turn it into a human trafficking system. »
10. Is there a solution?The movement of migrants will not stop. Asylum seekers can be allocated according to the capacity of the provinces and more appropriate reception mechanisms can be provided. The so-called "migrant crisis" would be less acute if they were quickly given a work permit that would allow them to support themselves.
1. What is the Safe Third Country Agreement?An agreement signed in 2002 between Canada and the United States that requires a potential refugee to make their refugee claim in the first safe country they set foot in. The idea is to avoid "shopping" from host countries. A safe country is defined as a country that respects human rights and provides strong protection for asylum seekers.
This agreement, wanted by Canada, is one-way because while migrants on American soil may want to try their luck in Canada, the reverse process is quite rare.
"The United States had no interest in signing an agreement that means that we will send migrants back to them when there are very, very few migrants who pass in the other direction," said François Crépeau, professor of public international law at McGill University.
"But after September 11, 2001, Canada had something to negotiate, which was all the border control security agreements. He asked that the Safe Third Country Agreement be included in the package. And the U.S. has included it. »
2. Does this agreement apply to all ports of entry?No. It covers only customs posts at the land border. It excludes arrivals by plane, boat, but more importantly, crossings that are not at official ports of entry, such as Roxham Road.
"Canada has been fooled somewhere," says Mr. Crépeau.
McGill University Professor of Public International Law François Crépeau
If this agreement only applies to border crossings, it is because the United States knew very well that the day they put it in the agreement, everyone would go through the back door and that they could not be turned away, he says.
3. Why is Roxham Road not illegal?Because the migrants who use it to enter Canada are not illegal. They immediately report to Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers, who are waiting for them at the border. These are people trying to make a refugee claim in Canada rather than in the United States. The current agreement allows them to do so if they avoid a formal port of entry.
4. Are migrants who pass through Roxham Road "fake refugees"?No, no more than the others. Almost half of them will be accepted as refugees after a long process. The acceptance rate for refugee claims made at Roxham Road is slightly lower than for refugee claims registered at official points. In 2018, it was 46%, compared to 55%, and in 2019, it was 50% compared to 59%.
5. Pourquoi le chemin Roxham est-il, de loin, le chemin « irrégulier » le plus populaire au Canada ?Parce que c’est « le chemin le plus organisé », croit Hélène Mayrand, professeure à la faculté de droit de l’Université de Sherbrooke. « Le gouvernement y a installé des infrastructures quasi permanentes. Tout un système a été mis en place pour que la GRC intercepte ces personnes-là. Les passeurs se sont aussi organisés. Il y a une sorte de circuit organisé. »
Mais aussi pour des raisons géographiques : il est proche des grands centres, sans obstacle naturel, comme les Grands Lacs ou les Rocheuses, et d’un accès facile.
6. Depuis des années, le gouvernement canadien renégocie l’Entente sur les tiers
pays sûrs avec les États-Unis. Pourquoi ?
Il veut étendre son application à l’ensemble de la frontière terrestre, de la Colombie-Britannique à la Nouvelle-Écosse, incluant les entrées irrégulières comme Roxham. Un tel changement permettrait au Canada de refouler les personnes qui passent entre les points d’entrée officiels.
Cela équivaudrait, en quelque sorte, à fermer le chemin Roxham. Mais cela exigerait le déploiement de ressources policières pour empêcher l’entrée de demandeurs d’asile par des chemins détournés.
« Comment est-ce que vous voulez contrôler les entrées sur une frontière qui fait plus de 5000 km de long ? lance François Crépeau. Les États-Unis, qui ont un budget dix fois plus gros que le nôtre, n’arrivent pas à empêcher les gens de venir. Comment le Canada peut-il le faire avec une frontière qui est deux fois et demie plus longue que celle entre les États-Unis et le Mexique ? »
7. Cette négociation a-t-elle des chances de porter des fruits ?Not in the short term. Twice in the past, Ottawa has hinted that a deal is within reach with Washington: in December 2021 and December 2022. But in January, federal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said he did not expect a deal to be announced in March as part of President Joe Biden's visit to Canada.
"The U.S. has no interest in changing the agreement," says Crépeau. And Canada doesn't have much left to offer. »
8. Can Canada decide alone to terminate the Agreement?Yes. "The agreement includes measures for the parties to amend and terminate it," says Hélène Mayrand. Both Canada and the United States may suspend it without any formality other than to give written notice to the other party. »
9. Couldn't Roxham be shut down instead?This is the solution advocated by Premier François Legault. But it is not without consequence.
François Crépeau is categorical: "The solution of closing Roxham Road or expanding the Safe Third Country Agreement makes no sense. It won't solve anything at all. Migrants will move elsewhere. All it does is it sends these people back into deeper hiding. It strengthens the criminal networks that exploit them and allows people who promise to take them across the border to turn it into a human trafficking system. »
10. Is there a solution?The movement of migrants will not stop. Asylum seekers can be allocated according to the capacity of the provinces and more appropriate reception mechanisms can be provided. The so-called "migrant crisis" would be less acute if they were quickly given a work permit that would allow them to support themselves.
