The Safe Third Country Agreement

Issue

Some people claim that the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement is unfair to refugees.

Fact

This Agreement between Canada and the United States means that refugee claimants must ask for protection in whichever of the two countries they enter first. For example, if a person from South America wants to claim refugee status in Canada, but passes through the United States, they must seek protection in the United States (the safe third country in this case). They can’t pursue a refugee claim at the Canadian border, unless they meet one of the exceptions, for example: they have family in Canada or are a child traveling alone.

The intention of the Agreement is not to limit the number of refugee claims in Canada, but to make sure that Canada and the United States share the responsibility of providing protection to refugees. By cooperating with the United States, we can handle refugee claims in an orderly way and reduce abuse of the refugee system.

For these reasons, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which protects the rights of refugees worldwide, has stated that these kinds of responsibility-sharing agreements can actually improve refugee protection. Other places, such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the European Union, also follow the safe third country principle, which is that people fleeing from danger should ask for protection at the first reasonable opportunity.

The UNHCR’s overall assessment of the Agreement is positive. Both Canada and the United States share a strong respect for human rights, and the refugee systems in both countries meet international requirements. Under the Agreement, people continue to have access to a full and fair process for claiming refugee status in one country or the other. It only makes sense that we work together to prevent the abuse of refugee programs, and to settle refugees in a safe environment as quickly and efficiently as possible.