Overview
- The national security committee rejected all proposed amendments, keeping Parts 5–8 unchanged despite a separate social affairs committee report urging their removal on human-rights, privacy and oversight grounds.
- Key provisions include a bar on refugee claims for people whose first arrival to Canada was more than a year earlier, retroactive to June 24, 2020, expanded information sharing, and cabinet power to cancel or modify issued immigration documents under a broad public‑interest test.
- Senator Mohammad Al Zaibak’s attempts to extend the claim window to three years, add an exception for minors, narrow the public‑interest definition, and strengthen parliamentary oversight were voted down.
- Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab welcomed the progress, arguing the measures target fraud and administrative problems and pointing to pre‑removal risk assessments as a safeguard, while civil‑society groups warn of rights risks and disproportionate impacts on vulnerable people.
- The full Senate is expected to hold third‑reading debate this week ahead of a Feb. 26 deadline, with critics continuing to press for deletion or tighter safeguards as the IRB backlog sits near 300,000 claims.