An Act Respecting Certain Measures Relating to the Security of Canada's Borders and the Integrity of the Canadian Immigration System and Respecting Other Related Security Measures
Short Title: Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act
Bill Type: House Government
Bill Sponsor: Minister of Public Safety
What is this Bill For?
Bill C-12 is a MASSIVE omnibus Bill spanning 11 parts and 137 sections.
In a single piece of Legislation, it overhauls
- border security,
- immigration enforcement,
- money laundering penalties,
- Coast Guard mandate and
- financial surveillance
Government gains sweeping new powers to cancel visas, suspend immigration processing and issue secret orders — all before Parliament is informed.
WHO GAINS POWER
CBSA and border authorities gain warrantless access to goods destined for export. Airports, wharves, railways and bridges must provide free facilities for CBSA operations at their own cost. Officers gain new tools to fast-track scheduling of fentanyl precursor chemicals. Undercover police are exempted from drug conspiracy and counselling charges.
The Immigration Minister can require specific documents from asylum claimants with hard deadlines, deem claims withdrawn or abandoned for non-compliance and share personal information — identity, status and documents — with Federal and Provincial agencies. The Refugee Board cannot proceed if a claimant is not physically in Canada.
The Governor in Council gains authority to suspend or terminate visa processing "in the public interest" — a term not defined in the Law — cancel already-issued visas, permits and permanent resident cards through secret orders, impose new conditions on temporary residents and issue orders exempt from normal regulatory process. Parliament receives a report within 7 days — but orders take effect immediately.
National Defense gains budget and mandate expansion as the Coast Guard is transferred from Fisheries to National Defense with intelligence collection added to its mandate.
FINTRAC and financial regulators gain penalties up to $20M for entities and $4M for individuals, a mandatory compliance agreement system, public compliance orders for refusals and penalties up to $30M for compliance order violations. FINTRAC gains authority to share information with the Elections Commissioner. Criminal penalties increase to $20M fines and 5 years jail.
The sex offender registry is expanded — vehicle changes must be reported within 7 days, CBSA can share travel data with police and police can share registry information with victims, witnesses and foreign agencies.
Parliament receives monthly deportation reports — after orders have already taken effect, not before.
WHO LOSES POWER
Asylum claimants lose eligibility if claims are made more than 1 year after entering Canada — retroactive to June 2020 — or if they entered at a non-port-of-entry along the US border after the deadline. The designated countries of origin regime is eliminated.
Visa and permit holders — including permanent residents — can have already-issued documents cancelled by secret Government order without advance notice or transparency requirement before cancellation.
Businesses subject to anti-money laundering rules must enter compliance agreements for violations with no discretion. Penalties are large enough to destroy small and mid-size businesses. Separate enrolment is required or businesses risk losing the ability to operate.
Provinces are banned from sharing immigration data with foreign entities without Federal consent.
WHO GAINS MONEY
Government gains massive new penalty revenue from anti-money laundering violations. The legal and compliance industry gains from mandatory compliance agreements and orders. National Defense gains budget expansion via the Coast Guard transfer.
WHO LOSES MONEY
Airports, wharves, railways and bridges absorb the cost of providing free CBSA facilities with no compensation. Businesses face penalties up to $30M for compliance order violations. Asylum claimants lose legal status and face deportation costs under retroactive rules. Taxpayers fund dual immigration and border infrastructure expansion.
THE CATCH
Bill C-12 bundles 11 unrelated policy areas into a single vote and gives Government sweeping secret powers over immigration status, financial businesses and civilian agencies — with Parliament informed after the fact, not before.
⚠️ "Public Interest" Is Undefined — Cabinet decides unilaterally what qualifies as "public interest" to suspend visa processing or cancel permits. No definition is written into the Law and no judicial review is required before orders take effect.
⚠️ Secret Orders Can Cancel Permanent Resident Cards — Cabinet can cancel already-issued visas and permanent resident cards through secret orders with no advance notice, no transparency and no requirement to inform the holder before cancellation.
⚠️ Retroactive Asylum Rules — Ineligibility rules apply to claims going back to June 2020 — punishing people for decisions made before the rules existed.
⚠️ Coast Guard Militarization Without Public Debate — The Coast Guard is transferred from Fisheries to National Defense with intelligence collection powers added to its mandate. No public debate on scope or limits is required by the Law.
⚠️ $30M Penalties Give Government Leverage to Destroy Financial Businesses — Compliance order violations carry penalties up to $30M for entities — large enough to eliminate any financial business that resists Government direction.
⚠️ FINTRAC Shares Financial Data With the Elections Commissioner — Creates a surveillance link between personal financial activity and political oversight with no defined boundary or limitation written into the Law.
⚠️ Private Infrastructure Pays for Government Operations — Airports, wharves, railways and bridges must provide free facilities for CBSA at their own cost with no compensation mechanism written into the Law.
⚠️ Omnibus Bill Bundles 11 Unrelated Areas Into One Vote — Parliament cannot reject Coast Guard militarization without also rejecting fentanyl precursor controls. No separate votes on unrelated measures are permitted.
⚠️ Undercover Police Exempted From Drug Conspiracy and Counselling Charges — The Bill exempts undercover officers from criminal liability for drug conspiracy and counselling offenses. No independent oversight body is specified to review how that exemption is used or to prevent abuse.
A note on retroactive rules: When a Law changes the rules backwards in time, people are penalized for decisions they made legally under the old rules. Asylum claimants who entered Canada before June 2020 and followed the process as it existed at the time can now be ruled ineligible and deported under rules that did not exist when they arrived.
Retroactive Legislation is legal in Canada — but it is rare and considered a significant departure from the principle that people should be able to rely on the Law as it exists when they act.