On Wednesday, Justice Keith Boswell declared it is “unconstitutional” for Ottawa to treat refugees from so-called “safe countries” differently from other refugees when it comes to being assessed to determine if deporting them would put them in danger. The safe country list initially included 23 countries and has since been expanded to 42, including the United States, Czech Republic, Hungary and Mexico. The remaining Harper reforms still in place for safe-country refugee claimants include a 180-day waiting period for work permits. Claimants from safe countries are given an asylum hearing within 45 days, versus 60 days for others. Since Hungary was deemed a safe country, they faced a three-year delay in getting a risk assessment after their asylum requests were rejected.

Source: thestar March 22, 2019 09:01 UTC