“The Biggest Problem With You…”: Racial Profiling and Canada’s Program of Extra-Territorial Migrant Interdiction

Authors

Simon Wallace, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University (Student Author)
Benjamin Perryman, Faculty of Law, University of New Brunswick
Gábor Lukács, Air Passengers Rights
Sean Rehaag, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University

Document Type

Article

Abstract

In 2019, two Roma-Hungarian travellers were prevented from boarding their flight to Canada. Even though their documents were in order and their travel was legitimate, they were singled out for examination and extra scrutiny. This article—relying on new evidence produced in a series of legal proceedings—shows how Canada has implemented a de facto system of racial profiling in airports overseas. This program was not built overnight, but produced by a series of historical accretions, all organized around the idea that potential refugees can be detected by their race. This article shows how Canada, to deter asylum seekers, has conscripted private actors to screen out some migrants. In this study, we explain how this racial profiling regime operates and test its legality against international legal instruments. We argue that this law offends basic Canadian legal commitments and that the practice ought to end.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Citation Information

Wallace, Simon; Perryman, Benjamin; Lukács, Gábor; and Rehaag, Sean. "“The Biggest Problem With You…”: Racial Profiling and Canada’s Program of Extra-Territorial Migrant Interdiction." Osgoode Hall Law Journal 61.3 (2025) :
DOI: https://doi.org/10.60082/2817-5069.4071
https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol61/iss3/7

References

1 PhD student, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University. The authors thank the two anonymous peer reviewers for their helpful comments. This article draws on research supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

2 Assistant Professor, University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law. Professor Perryman was legal counsel to the Kisses (whose story is described in this article) before the Federal Court of Canada. He thanks Kelsie Lockyer and Mark Browne for their valuable research assistance.

3 President, Air Passengers Rights. Doctor Lukács assisted the Kisses and has advanced independent litigation regarding the issue of extra-territorial refugee interdiction.

4 Associate Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University. Professor Rehaag provided an expert report in the Kisses’ application describing the racial and ethnic demographics of inland refugee claimants from Hungary.

5 See R v Immigration Officer at Prague Airport ex parte European Roma Rights Centre, [2004] UKHL 55 [Immigration Officer at Prague Airport].

6 See Kiss v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), IMM-2967-19 (FC) (Application Record, Applicants at 336-44) [Kiss AR].

7 See e.g., Patrick Ciaschi, “Around and Around: The Politics of Mobility in Everyday Lives of Roma in Current Day Hungary” (2018) 4 Intersections, East European J Society & Politics 17, DOI: https://doi.org/10.17356/ieejsp.v4i2.391; Judit Durst, “Out of the Frying Pan Into the Fire? From Municipal Lords to the Global Assembly Lines – Roma Experiences of Social Im/Mobility Through Migration From North Hungary” (2018) 4 Intersections, East European J Society & Politics 4, DOI: https://doi.org/10.17356/ieejsp.v4i3.479.

8 See e.g., Nicholas Keung, “Roma Say They’re Being Barred from Flights to Canada,” Toronto Star (6 May 2017), online: www.thestar.com/news/immigration/roma-say-they-re-being-barred-from-flights-to-canada/article_889d4b29-fb97-53a8-b27a-12a351f41be0.html [perma.cc/DR9E-ANUJ].

9 See Kiss v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2019 FC 1247 [Kiss 2019].

10 See Kiss v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 1147 [Kiss 2023].

11 “Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Electronic Travel Authorization and the Interdiction of Asylum Seekers at the Canada-US Security Perimeter” (2017) 47 Am Rev Can Studies 385 at 392, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02722011.2017.1406964. For a related study on how visa officers make and shape exclusion policy, see Vic Satzewich, Points of Entry: How Canada’s Immigration Officers Decide Who Gets In (UBC Press, 2015), DOI: https://doi.org/10.59962/9780774830263.

12 “Racial Borders” (2022) 110 Geo LJ 445 at 480 [Achiume, “Racial Borders”].

13 “Immigration and Racial Justice: Enforcing the Borders of Blackness” (2021) 37 Ga St U L Rev 1139 at 1146.

14 Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11 [Charter].

15 16 December 1966, 999 UNTS 171 (entered into force 23 March 1976) [ICCPR].

16 21 December 1965, 660 UNTS 195 (entered into force 4 January 1969) [ICERD].

17 See Kiss AR, supra note 6 at 34.

18 Ibid at 45.

19 See Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27, ss 20-22 [IRPA]; Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, SOR/2002-227, ss 6-7 [IRPR].

20 See IRPR, supra note 19, Schedule 1.1, s 190.

21 Ibid, ss 21-22, 30.

22 See IRPA, supra note 19, ss 34-41.

23 Ibid, s 21.

24 Ibid, s 30.

25 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, “Intake of Claims for Refugee Protection at Ports of Entry” (last modified 4 December 2023), online: www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/refugee-protection/canada/intake-claims-refugee-protection-ports-entry.html [perma.cc/TH98-6L7D].

26 See IRPA, supra note 19, s 49(2).

27 See IRPR, supra note 19, Schedule 1.1, s 190(1)(a).

28 Ibid, s 52(1)(a).

29 Ibid, ss 7.1, 190.

30 Ibid, s 7.1(3).

31 Ibid, s 294.1(1).

32 See Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, “What Type of Information Do I Need to Complete an ETA Application?” (last modified 10 June 2024), online: ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1087&top=16 [perma.cc/Y4S8-Z4UX].

33 Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement, Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Temporary Resident — Romania), PC 2018-603 (29 May 2018) C Gaz II, 1893.

34 Ibid.

35 See Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, SOR/2017-53 [IRPR 2017 Amending Regulations].

36 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, “How Long Will It Take To Process My ETA Application?” (last modified 10 June 2024), online: ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1063&top=16 [perma.cc/TW3F-T6NR].

37 See Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Access to Information and Privacy Request No A-2021-06773 [on file with authors].

38 IRPA, supra note 19, s 18(1).

39 For official guidance on how these examinations are to be conducted, see Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, ENF 4 Port of Entry Examinations (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 2024) [ENF 4].

40 Ibid at 25.

41 See IRPA, supra note 19, s 44.

42 See ENF 4, supra note 39 at 69.

43 See Canada Border Services Agency, Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) Cancellation by CBSA Officials (Operational Bulletin), PRG-2017-20 (Ottawa: CBSA, 12 May 2017); IRPR, supra note 19, ss 12.06-12.07.

44 Canada Border Services Agency, The CBSA Liaison Officer’s Role in Providing Advice to Transporters Concerning Improperly Documented, Visa-Exempt Foreign Nationals (Operational Bulletin), OPS-2012-05 (Ottawa: CBSA, 30 March 2012) at 1 [CBSA, Providing Advice to Transporters].

45 Canada Border Services Agency, “Advance Passenger Information / Passenger Name Record Data” (last modified 26 April 2022), online: www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/security-securite/api_ipv-eng.html [perma.cc/8MW2-48Y3].

46 Ibid.

47 Ibid.

48 Ibid.

49 Ibid.

50 CBSA, Providing Advice to Transporters, supra note 44 at 2.

51 See IRPR, supra note 19, ss 276-278.

52 Ibid, ss 279-280.

53 IRPR 2017 Amending Regulations, supra note 35 at 753.

54 See Kiss AR, supra note 6 at 12.

55 Ibid at 74.

56 Ibid at 73.

57 Cynthia Levine-Rasky, Writing the Roma: Histories, Policies, and Communities in Canada (Fernwood, 2016) at 71 [Levine-Rasky, Writing the Roma].

58 Ibid.

59 See István Kemény, “History of Roma in Hungary” in István Kemény, ed, Roma of Hungary (Social Science Monographs, 2005) 1 at 1; Levine-Rasky, Writing the Roma, supra note 57; Cynthia Levine-Rasky, “‘They didn’t treat me as a Gypsy’: Romani Refugees in Toronto” (2016) 32 Refuge: Canada’s J on Refugees 54, DOI: https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.40302; Cynthia Levine-Rasky, “Designating Safety, Denying Persecution: Implications for Roma Refugee Claimants in Canada” (2018) 16 J Immigrant & Refugee Studies 313, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2017.1298873; Guenter Lewy, The Nazi Persecution of the Gypsies (Oxford University Press, 2000), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195125566.001.0001; Human Rights Watch, “Hungary: Events of 2020” (2021), online: www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/hungary [perma.cc/ZX85-YH86]; Emma Townsend, “Hate Speech or Genocidal Discourse? An Examination of Anti-Roma Sentiment in Contemporary Europe” (2014) 11 Portal J Multidisciplinary Intl Studies 1, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5130/portal.v11i1.3287; Sean Rehaag, Julianna Beaudoin & Jennifer Danch, “No Refuge: Hungarian Romani Refugee Claimants in Canada” (2015) 52 Osgoode Hall LJ 705, DOI: https://doi.org/10.60082/2817-5069.2955.

60 See Kiss AR, supra note 6 at 21-25.

61 Ibid.

62 See Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, “Refugee Protection Claims (New System) by Country of Alleged Persecution - 2020” (last modified 1 September 2023), online: irb.gc.ca/en/statistics/protection/Pages/RPDStat2020.aspx [perma.cc/MM8E-GVNP]; Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, “Refugee Protection Claims (New System) by Country of Alleged Persecution - 2021” (last modified 1 September 2023), online: irb.gc.ca/en/statistics/protection/Pages/RPDStat2021.aspx [perma.cc/RZP5-DTWE].

63 Kiss AR, supra note 6 at 76.

64 Ibid at 77.

65 Ibid at 60.

66 Ibid at 61.

67. Ibid at 60-61.

68 Ibid at 61.

69 Ibid at 62.

70 Ibid at 63.

71 Ibid at 16.

72 See Kiss 2019, supra note 9 at para 1.

73 Kiss v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) (2020), IMM-2967-19 (FC) (Motion Record, 16 October 2019, Respondent at 1).

74 Kiss v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) (2020), IMM-2967-19 (FC) (Motion Record, 9 January 2020, Applicants at 1).

75 Kiss AR, supra note 6 at 6.

76 Ibid at 1.

77 See Kiss v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FC 584 [Kiss 2020].

78 Ibid.

79 Ibid.

80 Kiss AR, supra note 6 at 8.

81 Ibid at 6. See also Kiss 2020, supra note 77 at para 9.

82 Budapest Airport, “BUD Security Kft.: Five Years in Aviation Security” (20 July 2018), online: www.bud.hu/en/passengers/tips_and_offers/tips/news/bud_security_kft_five_yeyea_in_aviation_security.html [perma.cc/W66U-9XAE].

83 Ibid.

84 See Kiss AR, supra note 6 at 338.

85 See Canada Border Services Agency, Interactive Advance Passenger Information (IAPI), Access to Information and Privacy Request No A-2020-13556 (2018) at 284 [on file with authors].

86 Canada Border Services Agency, Memorandum of Understanding Between the Canada Border Services Agency and Airline, Access to Information and Privacy Request No A-2015-08903 at 2 [on file with authors].

87 Ibid.

88 Ibid.

89 See IRPR, supra note 19, s 280(2)(a).

90 See Kiss v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) (2023), IMM-2967-19 (FC) (Certified tribunal record).

91 Ibid at 288.

92 Ibid at 289.

93 Ibid at 309.

94 Ibid.

95 Ibid.

96 Ibid at 296.

97 See Kiss v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2022 FC 373.

98 Kiss v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2022 FC 133 at para 33.

99 Gábor Lukács v Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (2020), T-320-20/T-321-20 (FC) (Cross-examination of Arthur Nause on his two affidavits at 31) [Lukács].

100. Ibid at 29-30.

101 Ibid at 30.

102 See Andrew Brouwer & Judith Kumin, “Interception and Asylum: When Migration Control and Human Rights Collide” (2003) 21 Refuge: Canada’s J on Refugees 6, DOI: https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.21305.

103 See ibid; James C Hathaway & R Alexander Neve, “Fundamental Justice and the Deflection of Refugees from Canada” (1996) 34 Osgoode Hall LJ 213, DOI: https://doi.org/10.60082/2817-5069.1626; Efrat Arbel, “Bordering the Constitution, Constituting the Border” (2016) 53 Osgoode Hall LJ 824, DOI: https://doi.org/10.60082/2817-5069.3039.

104 Kiss AR, supra note 6 at 60-61.

105 See Simon Wallace, “‘Police Authority is Necessary’: The Canadian Origins of the Legal Powers to Detain and Deport, 1893-1902” (2023) 48 Queen’s LJ 101; Ninette Kelley & Michael Trebilcock, The Making of the Mosaic: A History of Canadian Immigration Policy (University of Toronto Press, 2010) at 135-45.

106 Ibid.

107 Ibid.

108 Ibid.

109 See Daniel Ghezelbash, “Legal Transfers of Restrictive Immigration Laws: A Historical Perspective” (2017) 66 Intl & Comp LQ 235 at 243; Kelley & Trebilcock, supra note 105 at 95-99.

110 Ibid.

111 Ibid.

112 See Audrey Macklin, “Historicizing Narratives of Arrival: The Other Indian Other” in Hester Lessard, Rebecca Johnson & Jeremy Webber, eds, Storied Communities: Narratives of Contact and Arrival in Constituting Political Community (UBC Press, 2011) 40 at 49-50, DOI: https://doi.org/10.59962/9780774818810-004. See also Renisa Mawani, Across Oceans of Law: The Komagata Maru and Jurisdiction in the Time of Empire (Duke University Press, 2018).

113 Wallace, supra note 105 at 109.

114 See Macklin, supra note 112 at 49; Mawani, supra note 112.

115 Ibid.

116 See Kelley & Trebilcock, supra note 105 at 167-70.

117 See PC 1923-185, (1923) C Gaz, 4107.

118 See Kelley & Trebilcock, supra note 105 at 220-21.

119 See Irving Abella & Harold Troper, None Is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe 1933-1948 (University of Toronto Press, 2012).

120 See Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals, Report, Part 1: Public (Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1986) (Honourable Jules Deschênes) at 217-24; Kelley & Trebilcock, supra note 105 at 325, 329-30, 340, 347-48.

121 House of Commons, Special Committee Appointed to Consider Bill No. 305 An Act Respecting Immigration, Evidence, 21-6, vol 1 (18 June 1952) at 92 (Leon Crestohl).

122 Ibid at 119.

123 Ibid.

124 Ibid.

125 Ibid.

126 Ibid.

127 Ibid.

128 SOR/53-220, s 18(6).

129 See SOR/62-36, s 29(3).

130 See SOR/76-389, s 1.

131 House of Commons, Standing Committee on Labour, Manpower and Immigration, Evidence, 30-2, vol 3, No 50 (12 July 1977) at 1030 (J L Manion).

132 Ibid.

133 Ibid.

134 Carey French, “Airlines seek to end refugee burden” (1 December 1984) T8.

135 Ibid.

136 House of Commons, Standing Committee on Labour, Manpower and Immigration, Evidence, 30-2, vol 2, No 30 (2 June 1977) at 2120 (Edward W Galbraith).

137 Ibid at 2120-210.

138 Ibid.

139 Ibid.

140 Ibid.

141 Ibid.

142 Ibid.

143 Dorothy Lipovenko, “Ottawa and Airlines Meeting to Discuss Cost of Detainees,” The Globe and Mail (24 January 1985) M1.

144 House of Commons, Legislative Committee on Bill C-86, an Act to amend the Immigration Act and other Acts in consequence thereof, Evidence, 34-3, vol 3, No 14 (30 October 1992) at 1155 (Brian Grant).

145 Ibid.

146 See House of Commons, Legislative Committee on Bill C-84, an Act to amend the Immigration Act, 1976 and the Criminal Code in consequence thereof, Evidence, 33-2, vol 1, No 2 (18 August 1987) at 2005 (Jan Smit).

147 See Victor Malarek, “Doors of Hope Slam in Refugees’ Faces,” The Globe and Mail (13 February 1988) D1.

148 See Richard Cleroux, “Power of New Migrants Law Shocks Critics,” The Globe and Mail (12 August 1987) A1.

149 House of Commons, Legislative Committee on Bill C-84, an Act to amend the Immigration Act, 1976 and the Criminal Code in consequence thereof, Evidence, 33-2, vol 1, No 8 (24 August 1987) at 1150 (David Giles).

150 Citizenship and Immigration Canada, “Review of the Immigration Control Officer Network – Final Report, 1.1 Background” (last modified 1 August 2001), online: web.archive.org/web/20130627185102/http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/audit/ico/11background-e.asp [perma.cc/XLT5-2C95].

151 See Citizenship and Immigration Canada, “Review of the Immigration Control Officer Network – Final Report, 3.0 Findings” (last modified 1 August 2001), online: Internet Archive web.archive.org/web/20130627185109/http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/audit/ico/30findings-e.asp [perma.cc/47VJ-KB68] [CIC, “Review of Office Network”].

152 Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement, Immigration Regulations, 1978, amendment, PC 1993-157 (28 January 1993) C Gaz II, 605 at 643.

153 Ibid at 649.

154 See House of Commons, Legislative Committee on Bill C-86, an Act to amend the Immigration Act and other Acts in consequence thereof, Evidence, 34-3, vol 2, No 5 (30 July 1992) at 1210 (David Matas).

155 Ibid.

156 House of Commons, Legislative Committee on Bill C-86, an Act to amend the Immigration Act and other Acts in consequence thereof, Evidence, 34-3, vol 1, No 4 (29 July 1992) at 0940.

157 CIC, “Review of Office Network,” supra note 151.

158 House of Commons, Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, Evidence, 36-2, No 9 (9 February 2000) at 1715 (Warren Everson).

159 John Morrison & Beth Crosland, “The Trafficking and Smuggling of Refugees: The End Game in European Asylum Policy” (2001) UNHCR, Working Paper No 39 at 28, online: www.unhcr.org/media/trafficking-and-smuggling-refugees-end-game-european-asylum-policy-john-morrison-and-beth [perma.cc/M9JC-QXHQ].

160 Estanislao Oziewicz, “Repeat Refugees Strain System,” The Globe and Mail (30 November 2000), online: www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/repeat-refugees-strain-system/article18428220 [perma.cc/MWD2-3ZDL].

161 See Rehaag, Beaudoin & Danch, supra note 59 at 718-29.

162 European Commission, “EU Visa Reciprocity Mechanism - Questions and Answers” (13 July 2016), online: European Commission ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/fr/MEMO_16_2506 [perma.cc/2BLQ-R5WY].

163 Alejandro Eggenschwiler, “The Canada-Czech Republic Visa Affair: A Test for Visa Reciprocity and Fundamental Rights in the European Union” (November 2010) at 8, online (pdf): Centre for European Policy Studies cdn.ceps.eu/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Eggenschwiler%20on%20Canada-Czech%20visa%20affair.pdf [perma.cc/24RU-W62B].

164 Jane Taber & Steven Chase, “Canada Aims to Curb Flow of Czech Asylum Seekers” (7 May 2009) A4.

165 See Eggenschwiler, supra note 163 at 6.

166 Josh Wingrove, “Canada Lifts Czech Travel Visa, Smoothing Wrinkle in EU Trade Deal,” The Globe and Mail (14 November 2013), online: www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-lifts-czech-travel-visa-smoothing-wrinkle-in-eu-trade-deal/article15440977 [perma.cc/SL7G-JWPQ].

167 Rehaag, Beaudoin & Danch, supra note 59 at 721.

168 Ibid at 726-28.

169 See YZ v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2015 FC 892 (striking down limitations on appeal rights); Feher v Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), 2019 FC 335 (striking down an extended bar against applying for a pre-removal risk assessment).

170 See Nicholas Keung, “Roma Refugees: Canadian Billboards in Hungary Warn of Deportation,” Toronto Star (1 February 2013), online: www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/01/25/roma_refugees_canadian_billboards_in_hungary_warn_of_deportation.html [perma.cc/L4NZ-VYZA].

171 Canada Border Services Agency, Project SARA: International and Domestic Activities: Final Report (CBSA, 31 January 2012) [CBSA, Project SARA].

172 Louise Elliott, “Hungarian Roma refugee claimants targeted in CBSA report,” CBC News (17 October 2012), online: www.cbc.ca/news/politics/hungarian-roma-refugee-claimants-targeted-in-cbsa-report-1.1212569 [perma.cc/BB56-CM9U].

173 CBSA, Project SARA, supra note 171 at 12.

174 Ibid at 7.

175 Ibid at 54.

176 Ibid.

177 Ibid at 22.

178 Ibid at 8.

179 Ibid at 5.

180 Ibid at 22.

181 CBSA, Providing Advice to Transporters, supra note 44 at 1-2.

182 Ibid at 2.

183 Ibid.

184 Lukács, supra note 99 at 35.

185 Ibid at 38.

186 CBSA, Project Sara, supra note 171 at 8.

187 Kiss AR, supra note 6 at 341.

188 Pub L No 107-173, §§ 303, 307, 116 Stat 523 (2002).

189 Anderson, supra note 11 at 391.

190 Public Safety Canada, “Beyond the Border Action Plan” (28 June 2016), online: www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/brdr-strtgs/bynd-th-brdr/ctn-pln-en.aspx [perma.cc/325U-Y2P5].

191 Ibid.

192 House of Commons, Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, Evidence, 41-1, No 21 (14 February 2012) at 1600 (Les Linklater).

193 Ibid at 1600 (Pierre Sabourin).

194 House of Commons, Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, Evidence, 41-1, No 59 (19 November 2012) at 1030 (Les Linklater).

195 Ibid at 1045 (Les Linklater).

196 See R v Hape, 2007 SCC 26 at para 101 [Hape]; R v McGregor, 2023 SCC 4. See also Amnesty International Canada v Canada (Chief of the Defence Staff), 2008 FC 336, aff’d 2008 FCA 401, leave to appeal to SCC refused, 33029 (21 May 2009) [Amnesty International Canada].

197 See Catherine Dauvergne, “How the Charter Has Failed Non-Citizens in Canada: Reviewing Thirty Years of Supreme Court of Canada Jurisprudence” (2013) 58 McGill LJ 663, DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1018393ar.

198 See e.g., Slahi v Canada (Minister of Justice), 2009 FC 160 at para 48, aff’d 2009 FCA 259; IRPA, supra note 19, ss 3(3)(d), 3(3)(f).

199 See Québec (Attorney General) v 9147-0732 Québec inc, 2020 SCC 32 at para 28 [9147-0732 Québec inc]. Contra Nevsun Resources Ltd v Araya, 2020 SCC 5 at paras 128, 132 [Nevsun].

200 See Nevsun, supra note 199 at para 94.

201 See Gib Van Ert, Using International Law in Canadian Courts, 2nd ed (Irwin Law, 2008) at 325-26 (discussing the “uncertainty that besets the reception of international human rights law in Canada” on account of inconsistent judicial decision making and a lack of a coherent theory to explain judicial reliance on some international sources).

202 See Nevsun, supra note 199 at para 159; 9147-0732 Québec inc, supra note 199 at para 23; Entertainment Software Association v Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, 2020 FCA 100 at paras 78-80, leave to appeal to SCC granted, 2022 SCC 30.

203 See Phillip M Saunders et al, Kindred’s International Law: Chiefly as Interpreted and Applied in Canada, 9th ed (Emond, 2019) at 207. See also Global Affairs Canada (Treaty Law Division), “Policy on Tabling of Treaties in Parliament” (last visited 31 July 2024), online: treaty-accord.gc.ca/procedures.aspx?lang=eng [perma.cc/QGW6-Z567] (noting that “government can accept the obligations within many treaties without new legislation [but] [i]n other cases, Canada must amend its domestic law before undertaking treaty obligations” at 6.2).

204 See Gib Van Ert, supra note 201 at 330.

205 Canada, Department of Canadian Heritage (Human Rights Program), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Sixth Report of Canada covering the period January 2005 – December 2009, Catalogue No CH37-4/7-2013F-PDF (Public Works and Government Services Canada, 9 April 2013) at 3, online: Government of Canada Publications publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2014/pc-ch/CH37-4-7-2013-eng.pdf [perma.cc/LH6Q-78JC].

206 See Hape, supra note 196 at para 53; Kazemi Estate v Islamic Republic of Iran, 2014 SCC 62 at para 60.

207 IRPA, supra note 19, s 3(3).

208 See De Guzman v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2005 FCA 436 at para 87; B010 v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2015 SCC 58 at para 49; Brown v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FCA 130 at paras 55-57; Mason v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 SCC 21 at paras 72, 106 [Mason].

209 Hape, supra note 196 at para 101. See also Amnesty International Canada, supra note 196 at paras 307, 317.

210 See Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65 at para 114.

211 Canada, House of Commons, Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, Promoting Fairness in Canadian Immigration Decisions: Report of the Standing Committee (November 2022) (Chair: Salma Zahid) at 1.

212 Ibid at 47-52, 75.

213 See generally Canada, Department of Canadian Heritage, Departmental Results Report, 2019-2020 (Canadian Heritage, 2020) (describing the federal government’s Anti-Racism Strategy and development of the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat); Canada, House of Commons, Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, Systemic Racism in Policing: Report of the Standing Committee (June 2021) (Chair: John McKay); Michael H Tulloch, Report of the Independent Police Oversight Review (Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2017); Wanda Phillips-Beck et al, “Confronting Racism within the Canadian Healthcare System: Systemic Exclusion of First Nations from Quality and Consistent Care” (2020) 17 Intl J of Envtl Research & Pub Health 8343, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228343; Akwasi Owusu-Bempah et al, “Race and Incarceration: The Representation and Characteristics of Black People in Provincial Correctional Facilities in Ontario, Canada” (2023) 13 Race & Justice 530, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/21533687211006461; Angela Lee, “Open Your Eyes: Teaching and Learning about Anti-Asian Racism and the Law in Canada” (2023) 46 Dal LJ 111, DOI: https://doi.org/10.32920/22492903.

214 See Malcolm Shaw, International Law, 6th ed (Cambridge University Press, 2008) at 286.

215 See Case concerning the Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company, Limited (Belgium v Spain), [1970] ICJ Rep 3 at para 33.

216 See Report of the International Law Commission, UNGA, 71st Sess, UN Doc A/74/10 (2019) at 147.

217 See Nevsun, supra note 199 at para 103.

218 CCPR General Comment No. 18: Non-discrimination, UNHRC, 37th Sess (1989) in Compilation of General Comments and General Recommendations Adopted by Human Rights Treaty Bodies, UN Doc HRI/GEN/1/Rev.1 (1994) at 27.

219 See Richard Perruchoud, “State Sovereignty and Freedom of Movement” in Brian Opeskin et al, eds, Foundations of International Migration Law (Cambridge University Press, 2012) 123 at 124, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139084598.006. See also, infra, Part III(C-D), discussing permissible citizen/non-citizen distinctions in the context of the ICCPR and ICERD, respectively. See also Vincent Chetail, “Sovereignty and Migration in the Doctrine of the Law of Nations: An Intellectual History of Hospitality from Vitoria to Vattel” (2016) 27 Eur J Intl L 901, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chw059 (discussing the international rule of hospitality in historical context and its juxtaposition with the more recent emergence of migration control premised on state sovereignty); Catherine Dauvergne, “Sovereignty, Migration and the Rule of Law in Global Times” (2004) 67 Mod L Rev 588, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.2004.00501.x.

220 See Theodor Meron, “The Meaning and Reach of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination” (1985) 79 Am J Intl L 283 at 312, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2201704.

221 2002 CarswellOnt 2927 at para 33 (CA).

222 See Nevsun, supra at note 199 at paras 103-13.

223 See supra note 5.

224 Supra note 5 at paras 97-98.

225 See ICCPR, supra note 15, art 26.

226 Communication No. 1493/2006 (Williams Lecraft v Spain), UNHRC, 96th Sess, UN Doc CCPR/C/96/D/1493/2006 (2009) at para 2.1 [Williams Lecraft v Spain].

227 Ibid.

228 Ibid at paras 7.2, 7.4.

229 Ibid at para 7.2.

230 Ibid.

231 Ibid at para 7.4.

232 Immigration Officer at Prague Airport, supra note 5 at para 103.

233 See ICERD, supra note 16.

234 Communication No. 31/2003, UNCERD, 66th Sess, UN Doc CERD/C/66/D/31/2003 (2005) Annex opinion at para 10.2 [Opinion Concerning Communication No. 31/2003, UNCERD].

235 General Recommendation No. 14: On Article 1, Paragraph 1, of the Convention, UNCERD, 42nd Sess (1993) in Compilation of General Comments and General Recommendations Adopted by Human Rights Treaty Bodies, UN Doc HRI/GEN/1/Rev.1 (1994) 67 at 68.

236 Opinion Concerning Communication No. 31/2003, UNCERD, supra note 234 at paras 10.4-10.5.

237 Achiume, “Racial Borders,” supra note 12 at 448.

238 ICERD, supra note 16, art 1(2).

239 Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Qatar v United Arab Emirates), [2021] ICJ Rep 71 at 105.

240 UNCERD, 65th Sess, UN Doc CERD/C/64/Misc.11/rev.3 (2004) at para 4.

241 See E Tendayi Achiume, “Governing Xenophobia” (2021) 51 Vand J Transnat’l L 333 at 356-57.

242 Achiume, “Racial Borders,” supra note 12 at 449.

243 General Recommendation No. 36: On Preventing and Combating Racial Profiling by Law Enforcement Officials, UNCERD, 102nd Sess, UN Doc CERD/C/GC/36 (2020) at para 18 [General Recommendation No. 36, UNCERD].

244 Ibid at para 11.

245 Ibid at para 32. See also Anupam Chander, “The Racist Algorithm” (2017) 115 Mich L Rev 1023 at 1036-37, DOI: https://doi.org/10.36644/mlr.115.6.racist; Megan Garcia, “Racist in the Machine” (2016) 33 World Pol’y J 111 at 112, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/07402775-3813015; Petra Molnar & Lex Gill, Bots at the Gate: A Human Rights Analysis of Automated Decision-Making in Canada’s Immigration and Refugee System (International Human Rights Program and the Citizen Lab, 2018) at 9-10, online: citizenlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/IHRP-Automated-Systems-Report-Web-V2.pdf [perma.cc/BZ8H-W5PC].

246 See General Recommendation No. 36, UNCERD, supra note 243 at para 23.

247 See ICERD, supra note 16, art 2.

248 Ibid, art 5.

249 Immigration Officer at Prague Airport, supra note 5 at para 101.

250 Ibid at para 97.

251 Ibid at paras 100-103.

252 See Kiss 2023, supra note 10.

253 Ibid at paras 58-60.

254 Ibid at paras 61, 66.

255 Ibid at para 69.

256 Ibid at paras 71-73.

257 Ibid at para 74.

258 Ibid at paras 75-76.

259 Ibid at paras 84-92.

260 Ibid at para 81.

261 The Supreme Court of Canada recently held that international legal arguments cannot be ignored when analyzing exercises of discretion made pursuant to the IRPA. See Mason, supra note 208 at paras 116-17.