Major changes are coming Canada’s immigration and asylum system after the Liberals’ border security bill received royal assent on Thursday. 

Bill C-12 introduces sweeping reforms, including stricter eligibility rules for refugee claims, a streamlined asylum process, expanded authority for information-sharing across government departments, and new authority that allows cabinet to suspend or cancel groups of immigration documents in what it deems the “public interest.” 

The changes significantly expand federal authority over how asylum claims are processed and how personal data is shared between agencies.  

The Liberals said the bill was need to combat fentanyl trafficking and money laundering. 

In a statement, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the legislation is “crucial to providing our law enforcement and intelligence agencies with more tools and authorities that need to combat transnational organized crime and keep Canada and everyone who lives here safe and secure.” 

It also serves as a way to fill the gaps in the current immigration regulations the system doesn’t currently have, such as addressing backlogs in the immigration system.

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Lena Diab said C-12 would help in “strengthening the practical tools that keep our immigration and asylum systems fair, efficient and working as intended.” 

She said in a statement the changes would maintain access to protection and “due process.” 

Before its royal assent, Bill C-12 was sent to two committees in the Senate — Social Affairs and National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs — for study. Senators responded by advancing amendments to bolster oversight, including an amendment to carve out citizens and permanent residents from expanded information-sharing provisions, proposed by Senator Paulette Senior. 

READ MORE: Immigration Bill C-12 to move back to the House for final approval

MPs accepted the Senate amendments aimed at strengthening oversight, including a requirement for the immigration minister to report to Parliament on how the bill’s new asylum ineligibility rules are being implemented, as well as a five-year review of the law.  

However, the House rejected proposed limits on information sharing, a change the Senate ultimately agreed to drop. 

While C-12 is now written into law, the bill continues to face scrutiny from civil liberties groups, particularly in the changes in the rollback of asylum claimants rights. 

A coalition of civil liberties groups, like Amnesty International and Canadian Council for Refugees, said the bill still raises concerns about privacy and oversight, arguing that the government missed an opportunity to adopt stronger safeguards, particularly after rejecting a Senate amendment that would have limited how information about citizens and permanent residents can be shared. 

“This government is replicating U.S.-like anti-migrant sentiment and policies in Canada,” Migrant Workers Alliance for Change wrote in a statement.

“As we look ahead, we are concerned about the dangerous trend towards discretionary power and the further erosion of refugee and migrant rights slated in future legislative and policy reforms, including imminent changes to the Interim Federal Health Program coming into effect on May 1st.”