Overview
- Bill C-12 became law Thursday, granting Ottawa wider control over immigration programs and changing who can get a full refugee hearing.
- Two new bars now block many claims from the Immigration and Refugee Board: filing more than one year after entry for people who arrived after June 24, 2020, and certain irregular crossings from the United States, with both applied to claims made on or after June 3, 2025.
- People ruled ineligible lose access to a tribunal hearing before the IRB, an independent body, and instead can seek a pre‑removal risk assessment handled by immigration officials that offers fewer safeguards and no guaranteed oral testimony.
- The law lets the government pause intake, halt processing, or cancel groups of visas and permits on public‑interest grounds such as fraud, public health, safety, or national security, with new powers to impose or change conditions on temporary residents.
- IRCC can now share more personal data with other governments and, with minister approval, allow onward disclosure to foreign entities after MPs rejected a Senate bid to exempt citizens and permanent residents, while Parliament added ministerial reporting and a five‑year review as lawyers and the UN warn of legal and protection risks.