C-12 could change refugee claims process, Diab says

Immigration Minister Lena Diab said Bill C-12 would redirect people who arrived more than a year ago from refugee hearings to a pre-removal risk assessment, and critics including the Canadian Bar Association and Amnesty International warn this could create a two-tier asylum system.

Immigration Minister Lena Diab told a Senate committee that Bill C-12 would move people who first arrived in Canada more than a year ago away from refugee hearings and toward pre-removal risk assessments. The government frames the change as quicker for applicants, while several organizations have raised concerns about access to in-person hearings for vulnerable claimants. The Senate is conducting an accelerated study of the bill and has set a Feb. 24 deadline for committee amendments. Key points: - Bill C-12 proposes barring people who first came to Canada more than a year ago from filing refugee claims with the Immigrant and Refugee Board. - People in that category would be required to apply for a pre-removal risk assessment, an appeal-stage process that the minister said could approve claims "right away" if protection is clearly needed. - The Canadian Bar Association and Amnesty International say the measure could create a two-tier system and would not guarantee in-person hearings for vulnerable groups, including LGBTQ+ people and survivors of domestic violence. Summary: The proposed change would shift some asylum claimants from the board's refugee hearings to a pre-removal risk assessment process. The Senate committee is studying Bill C-12 with a Feb. 24 deadline to review amendments.