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About a hundred people were crammed into the tiny Parc-Ex Brique par Brique community centre, but you could hear a pin drop. They were here to learn about how Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, now law, would impact them and their loved ones at an emergency town hall on March 28.
"It's important not to panic," repeated presenters from the Immigrant Workers’ Centre (IWC) and the Migrant Justice Clinic (MJC).
The residents of Parc-Ex and beyond listened closely as lawyers and community activists calmly and clearly explained the impacts of this bill, leaving time for live interpreters to echo their words in Spanish, Punjabi and Hindi.
If you're an asylum seeker and would like to know if this legislation affects you, take this quiz.
One-year time limit to apply for refugee status
Because of this law, you have one year to apply for refugee status from your first entry into Canada. It applies retroactively to anyone who entered Canada from June 24, 2020 onward and who made their claim on, or after June 3, 2025. It doesn't matter how short your stay was, if conditions in your home country have changed, or whether you entered as a child or as an adult. You can't file a refugee claim with the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) if more than one year has passed. Before this bill, there was no hard time limit to apply for refugee status, although excessive delays could affect your credibility at an IRB hearing.
Before, if you crossed into Canada from an official US between crossing, you could apply for refugee status after 14 days. Bill C-12 removes this exemption.
If these new restrictions apply to you, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) may invite you to apply for a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA). This is a written application with no appeal process. An immigration officer with less in-depth training evaluates your written application, instead of going before the immigration and refugee board, where lawyers and other professionals will evaluate your application. You can challenge the decision in court, but it's a costly process and there are no guarantees that you won't be deported in the meantime.
Ali*, who wished to remain anonymous, is a queer international student who filed their refugee claim with three days to spare before the one-year first entry cut-off. Some of their loved ones were not as lucky.
"I'm watching people who are fleeing violence, my friends, my community, people I love and care about, just lose all safety after working so hard to get safe," said Ali*, their voice wavering with emotion. "I feel this immense grief and this... I cannot explain the sadness. I don't even think I'm angry anymore. I just feel devastated."
The government has painted international students who later seek refugee status as dishonest, but in Ali*'s case, it was the most surefire pathway to get into Canada as a 2SLGTBQ+ youth.
"I came by a student permit because that was the only way I could come to Canada safely... I knew I was going to be an asylum seeker since I was like 17," they said. "I've seen people be burnt alive for being gay. And then I've worked so hard to be safe and they're telling me either this (refugee claim process) works or you go back home and live with that."
Ali* feels that this legislation sets a dangerous precedent. What's to stop the government from arbitrarily changing that delay from 12 months to say, nine months in the future?
"We're literally telling people that they are not deserving of safety," Ali* said indignantly.