NCCM Submits Brief on Preclearance Act, 2016

On May 12, 2017, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), in conjunction with the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG), submitted a brief to the House Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security on Bill C-23, known as the Preclearance Act, 2016.

Bill C-23 has been presented as making the necessary legislative changes in order to implement the Agreement, and therefore allow for the expansion of preclearance in Canada and begin Canadian preclearance in the United States. The changes which would be implemented by Bill C-23, though, are not minor in scope and would significantly change the security protocols around U.S. preclearance areas in Canada, including providing United States Customs and Border Patrol (USCBP) agents with expanded powers.

The NCCM is greatly concerned that these expanded powers will have negative repercussions on the civil liberties of travellers from Canada to the U.S., and particularly Canadian Muslims, who pass through preclearance zones.

Read the NCCM’s joint brief.
Read the NCCM’s supplementary brief.