Ottawa, ON — A former refugee and transgender woman says she would likely have been denied protection in Canada under the federal government’s proposed Bill C-12, which introduces new restrictions on when individuals can file refugee claims.
Asya Medea, who fled Turkey in 2018 amid rising anti-LGBTQ+ persecution, says the proposed one-year limit on filing refugee applications would have disqualified her from seeking asylum — and potentially forced her return to danger.
“Turkey had become increasingly transphobic, and the regulations were specifically targeting people like me,” Medea said. “At that time, I had no other option. My conditions, and the conditions in Turkey, made me a refugee.”
Medea came to Canada on a student visa to begin a PhD in gender, sexuality, and women’s studies at York University, later applying for refugee status about 18 months after her arrival. Her claim was accepted in 2020, and she now holds permanent residency.
Under Bill C-12, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) would be barred from hearing refugee claims from individuals who have been in Canada for more than one year — a limit that would apply retroactively to June 24, 2020, when Canada’s entry-exit tracking system came into effect.
The federal government argues that individuals in Canada beyond that period can instead apply for a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) — a final check to ensure they are not being sent back to danger. However, government data shows that only about six per cent of PRRA applications are approved, prompting concern from refugee advocates and opposition MPs.
Concerns About Fairness and Real-World Impacts
During Thursday’s House of Commons immigration committee hearing, Bloc Québécois MP Claude DeBellefeuille raised concerns that the PRRA process is an inadequate substitute for the IRB hearing process, particularly for individuals whose home countries may have undergone recent turmoil.
“What happens if someone’s home country becomes unsafe after they’ve been here for more than a year?” DeBellefeuille asked in French.
Immigration Minister Lena Diab responded that such individuals would still be eligible for a PRRA review.
However, Jason Hollmann, Director General of Asylum Policy at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), acknowledged that the PRRA process uses the same criteria as an IRB assessment but is generally reserved for those who have already been refused asylum claims — not as a replacement for the full hearing process.
Community Reaction and Advocacy
Medea, who now operates LuBunTO, a non-profit supporting LGBTQ+ newcomers, says the bill has caused “shock and confusion” among many in her community.
“I’ve heard from several people who have been in Canada for more than a year and have applied for refugee status since June 2020. They don’t know if they’ll be able to stay,” Medea said. “People’s lives are in limbo.”
Syed Hussan, Executive Director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, criticized the proposal as “arbitrary and unrealistic.”
“The refugee system is meant to protect people from war and persecution — and war doesn’t follow a calendar,” Hussan said. “Setting a 365-day limit ignores the real world, where crises can erupt overnight — from wars to coups to climate disasters.”
Advocacy organizations and refugee law experts are urging the government to reconsider the one-year restriction, warning that it could endanger vulnerable people and undermine Canada’s longstanding humanitarian commitments.
Courtsey David Baxter, The Canadian Press