Jessica Sanghera

This paper presents the argument that Canada continues to practice discriminatory measures aimed at restricting access into the country for those wishing to enter Canada on grounds of refuge, or seeking asylum, based solely on one’s ethnic identity or origin. This barrier is the Canada-USA Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA). My work begins by providing historical accounts of overt racism that early Chinese and Sikh migrants faced at the hands of the Canadian government in hopes of deterring further migration of such ethnic groups, and keeping Canada a 'white nation'. Fast forward to present day and there continues to be efforts aimed at deterring certain people from entering the country. Through the Canada-USA STCA the government is able to restrict those they do not deem fit for entering, and settling within Canada. This work covers the concepts of shifting geographic borders, the illegality of such an agreement as a direct violation under the 1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the legal ramifications of the STCA, and lastly the notion of disappearing refugees.

Criminology and Criminal Justice
Legal Studies
Social and Behavioral Sciences

http://kora.kpu.ca/scusc/scusc_2014/schedule/30