Canadian court rules 'Safe Third Country' pact with U.S. is invalid

Experts have said suspending the agreement would have huge implications for the Canada-U.S. relationship. Federal court judge Ann Marie McDonald ruled that the agreement was in violation of a section of Canada's Charter of Rights that says laws or state actions that interfere with life, liberty and security must conform to the principles of fundamental justice.

Canada's Federal Court on Wednesday said a pact that compels asylum seekers trying to cross the border into Canada to first apply for sanctuary in the United States was invalid because it violates their human rights.

Under the so-called Safe Third Country Agreement between the two neighbors, asylum seekers at a formal border crossing traveling in either direction are turned back and told to apply for asylum in the country they first arrived in. Lawyers for refugees who had been turned away at the Canadian border challenged the agreement, saying the United States does not qualify as a "safe" country under U.S. President Donald Trump.

More than 50,000 people have illegally crossed the Canada-U.S. border to file refugee claims over the past four years, walking over ditches and on empty roads along the world's longest undefended border. The court challenge came as Canada sought to stem the human tide of asylum seekers that flowed into the country starting in 2016 after Trump promised to crack down on illegal immigration into the United States. Experts have said suspending the agreement would have huge implications for the Canada-U.S. relationship.

Federal court judge Ann Marie McDonald ruled that the agreement was in violation of a section of Canada's Charter of Rights that says laws or state actions that interfere with life, liberty, and security must conform to the principles of fundamental justice. She suspended her decision for six months to give Parliament a chance to respond to the ruling. The ruling is not final and can be appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal and then the Supreme Court if necessary.

Canada's justice ministry and immigration ministry had no immediate comment, nor did officials in the U.S. embassy in Ottawa.