The Broadbent Institute is calling on the Prime Minister of Canada and his Government to Immediately condemn the recent cruel actions of the United States Government against immigrant families and suspend the Safe-Third-Country Agreement.

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister Hussen,

I am calling on you to honour our country’s longstanding commitment to human rights by suspending the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have imposed multiple inhumane and discriminatory changes to its refugee and immigration system. In early 2017, President Trump made an executive order for a travel ban on 7 Muslim-majority countries; leaving many stranded at ports of entry around the world. Then in late 2017, news broke that President Trump would end temporary protected status for thousands of individuals, many of them young people who’ve been in the United States for the majority of their lives. And now, the world is watching with despair and grave concern as families seeking asylum are being detained and children being forcibly separated from their parents. The photographs of these thousands of children being held in cages have shocked the conscience of Canadians.

The Safe Third Country Agreement holds that both Canada and the U.S are “safe” countries for those seeking asylum. Manifestly, the U.S. no longer meets this standard. Countless refugee advocates including Amnesty International Canada and the Canadian Council for Refugees have called on Canada to recognize the ongoing inhumane treatment of asylum seekers in the U.S. by rescinding the Safe Third Country Agreement.

As a signatory of the 1951 Refugee Convention, Canada has a legal and moral responsibility to provide asylum to those who seek it - including migrants at the Canada/U.S. border. Given the deteriorating situation in the U.S. we need to act immediately. Please do what is right. Uphold and fulfill our international commitments and suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States now.