Canada passes Bill C-12 limiting asylum access

Canada passed Bill C-12, restricting asylum eligibility and increasing government powers over immigration documents.

The law bars claimants who apply more than one year after entry from receiving full Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) hearings, substituting a lower-protection pre-removal risk assessment. It also grants the government power to cancel visas, permits and applications on vague "public interest" grounds and to share personal information, making legal status, appeals, and privacy more restricted and uncertain.