Prime Minister Carney has introduced Bill C-2, also called the Strong Borders Act.
Many parts of this bill have little or nothing to do with the border at all. And where it does, it’s not about safety, it’s about strengthening a system of militarized control, racial profiling, and mass surveillance.
Disguised as needed changes, and in a move taken straight out of Trump’s playbook, this bill is a dangerous combination of anti-migrant policy and authoritarian control.
If passed, Bill C-2 would:
- Expand the authority of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)—an agency with a track record of racial profiling [1] and in-custody deaths [2]
- Make it easier to detain and deport migrants and refugees without process [3]
- Increase surveillance of individuals by security services with little oversight [4]
- Undermine asylum rights and Canada’s human rights commitments [3]
This bill does not make people or our borders safer. It fixes in place a system that punishes those fleeing war, climate disasters, and injustice.
While at the same time it increases the security services surveillance powers, which can be used to target activists like those protesting war or resource extraction projects. This kind of surveillance power is often disproportionately used on racialized and Indigenous people.
We need public policies that prioritize care, compassion, and justice, not more walls, detention centers, and unchecked power.
Militarized borders and mass surveillance won’t keep us safe. But caring for each other might.
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/racialized-travellers-border-security-1.6583899
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