New regulatory amendments will improve border processing efficiency and support public safety priorities
News release
July 4, 2024
Ottawa, Ontario
New regulatory amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) will help improve processing efficiency at the border, strengthen border integrity and enhance public safety.
The regulatory amendments allow a Minister’s Delegate to issue a removal order directly at the port of entry for straightforward transborder criminal offences such as carrying a concealed weapon, smuggling drugs or the unauthorized possession of a firearm.
Under the previous framework, the individual who committed this type of offence would be admitted into Canada for an admissibility hearing with the Immigration Refugee Board (IRB). A subsequent removal order would be given if the IRB determined the individual was inadmissible.
By allowing the Minister’s Delegate to issue a removal order for straightforward transborder criminal offences at the border, inadmissibility decisions are streamlined and offenders are turned away immediately.
These amendments also help fulfill the Government of Canada’s objectives for the firearms strategy outlined in Bill C-21 by strengthening the enforcement of certain firearms-related offences.
Quotes
“Our border services officers play an integral role in our fight against gun violence. This new measure will be another tool in their toolbox in securing our borders and preventing guns from entering Canada.”
- The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions, and Intergovernmental Affairs
Quick facts
- Border services officers must be satisfied that all admissibility requirements have been met before authorizing entry of a foreign national to Canada.
- The Minister’s delegate (MD) is a person authorized to carry out a decision on behalf of the Minister under IRPA.
- Transborder criminality refers to cases where a foreign national commits a prescribed criminal offence at the port of entry and includes cases such as the smuggling of weapons and firearms into Canada.
- The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) outline inadmissibility grounds for which removal orders are to be issued by the Immigration Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board and those for which removal orders are to be issued by the Minister’s Delegate.
- Bill C-21 received Royal Assent on December 15, 2023. It includes measures to combat gun crime, it codifies the national handgun freeze, brings increased penalties for firearms smuggling and trafficking, and introduces provisions to better address the role of firearms in intimate partner and gender-based violence.
Associated links
Contacts
Jean-Sébastien Comeau
Deputy Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc
Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs
343-574-8116
Jean-Sebastien.Comeau@iga-aig.gc.ca
Media Relations
Canada Border Services Agency
media@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
1-877-761-5945
