Canadian Border Services Agency
Border securitization has been a flagstone of structural Islamophobia since the 9/11 era, and continues in Canada to this day. Muslims have unjustly been targeted by securitization policies and practices on many levels in the past decades, with many of these unfair practices still ocurring, fully sanctioned by the law.
CMPAC is determined to identify and address structural biases in the ways Muslims are treated by the Canadian Border Services Agency. Learn more about our concerns with the CBSA, and the work we are doing to address Islamophobia.
CBSA Oversight
The Liberal Government has tabled Bill C-20, introducing the CBSA’s first ever oversight body. The Bill as proposed contains a number of shortcomings that impact the ability to have an accessible, transparent accountability process that affords recourse to those whose complaints are found valid. Importantly, there is currently no recourse for combined or systemic complaints about activities and policies of the CBSA.
CMPAC has a parliamentary submission addressing these issues, and has lobbied parliamentarians for amendments that ensure the oversight bodies and processes introduced are robust enough to make a difference. Find more information below about our policy and advocacy on this issue.
Inadmissibility
Officers of the Canadian Border Services Agency wield an unparalleled power over entrants to Canada. These agents have the power to deny entry and even ban entrants into Canada, referred to as inadmissibility.
The justifications used to deem someone inadmissible to Canada can be as loose as being essentially fabricated, with no reasonable recourse available.
Besides being an infringement on civil rights, border agents have specifically targeted Muslim community members, including recent cases of Egyptian refugees landing in BC.
Our work on this file is ongoing, including a call for intervention in cases of unjust denial of entry, changes in the powers afforded to individual agents, and avenues for recourse in cases of abuse.
Our Work on this File
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