Premier David Eby is calling on senators to urgently pass the federal government’s proposed border bill without major changes, saying delays and any modifications will put the safety of families at risk.
Premier David Eby is calling on senators to urgently pass the federal government’s proposed border bill without major changes, saying delays and modifications will put the safety of B.C. families at risk.
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“South of the Fraser right now, people are living in fear around extortion,” Eby said.
“Our current laws are not up to the moment.”
Eby added that families are watching arrests happen only to see the same individuals remain in Canada while their cases wind through the immigration system.
Just this year, the Lower Mainland, and particularly Surrey, has already seen dozens of extortion attempts and several shootings, with the majority of those cases targeting members of the South Asian community.
During a recent visit to Ottawa, Eby said he delivered a key message to decision makers in Parliament to move quickly on changes to both the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to give police the tools to “arrest and deport, if necessary, people who are involved in this.”
Eby said, “It is urgent” for the protection of local families.”
“They are seeing slow-motion terror attacks in their community, and a system that is prioritizing the people engaging in this terrorist activity over their families.”
The premier’s comments come after a Senate social affairs committee recommended removing or significantly amending immigration-related sections of Bill C-12, warning of potential human rights violations, a lack of fairness for vulnerable people, and giving the federal government broad immigration powers with limited oversight.
The committee said it heard from legal experts and civil liberties groups who argued the legislation could create a two-tier asylum system and allow the cabinet to cancel or modify immigration documents — including for permanent residents — in the “public interest.”
The report also raised concerns about a provision that would make some asylum seekers ineligible if they first came to Canada more than a year before filing a claim, with the change applied retroactively to 2020.
Eby criticized the consideration of those changes and said the focus should be on strengthening the bill, not weakening it.
“We look to the Senate for sober second thought. I have to question whether there is thought — and frankly, whether there is sobriety — around this matter.”
The Senate’s national security committee is expected to conduct a clause-by-clause review of the bill, where amendments can be introduced.
The legislation faces a second-reading deadline later this week.
