North American Responses: a Comparative Study of U.S. and Canadian Refugee Policy

Canada and the United States, proud countries of immigration and neighbours privileged to house two of the most prosperous societies on this planet, have long played pivotal roles in the international refugee protection regime. Canada’s longstanding reputation for humanitarianism generally, and refugee protection in particular, has been especially strong. In recent years, however, both countries have retreated from their historic protection roles by heightening their law-enforcement priorities and correspondingly diminishing their commitments to civil liberties and refugee protection. Those trends have gathered extra steam since 11 September 2001. This chapter will summarize and compare the asylum determination systems of Canada