Helicopter Governments: part three – Bill C-12

We’ve all heard of helicopter parents, hovering over their little ones to protect them from every scrape and fall. Can governments, sincere in their motive, overprotect their citizens? The Liberal government has introduced Bill C-2 (Strong Borders Act) and Bill C-9 (The Combatting Hate Act) as a solution to the social turmoil in our nation. But is their effort an overreaction to outside pressure, or a purposeful distraction from other internal issues they aren’t managing? Now, we have bill C-12 as an attempt to circumvent some of the legitimate protest around bill C-2.

C-2, C-9, and now C-12 have been introduced in response to the pressure from President Trump regarding Canada’s poor border security. While the bill may make Americans happier, does the new bill do any better at finding the balance between security and rights for Canadians?

On October 8, 2025, Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety, introduced Bill C-12. The bill, called Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, claims to strengthen immigration and border security, protect Canadians, and to keep our communities safe. Government materials state that it is in response to rising pressures at Canada’s frontiers and the growing concerns over criminal networks and illicit cross-border flows.

According to GHY International (George H. Young), a North American customs brokerage and global trade service company founded in 1901, C-12 focuses on four key areas:

• Broadening customs powers – it would expand authorities under the Customs Act to inspect and detain goods for export, plus give the CBSA greater access at ports and warehouses to interdict trafficked or dangerous goods.
• Strengthening immigration document controls – it allows the government to suspend, cancel, or alter immigration documents in certain circumstances, and enhance cancellation powers in cases of misrepresentation or security concerns.
• Improved claim processing rules – it introduces new criteria to handle surges of asylum or protection claims and to streamline admissibility decisions.
• Combatting illicit flows – it accelerates cross-government efforts against money laundering, fentanyl precursor chemicals, and criminal networks.

Those in favour, see this bill as filling gaps left by C-2, working to adapt to changing security and immigration challenges. It is a backbone for the border and immigration regime, integrating law enforcement in a robust and responsive way. Those opposing, are focused on the lack of clear safeguards, the overreach of enhanced powers, the undue discretion, and the harm to legitimate migrants or refugees.

A broad coalition of civil liberties groups, led by Amnesty International, and including data privacy, refugee, migrant rights, and gender justice organizations have denounced the bill, asserting that it fails to resolve the human rights and refugee protection issues hidden in bill C-2. Churches concerned with justice issues should pay attention to this bill and the potential impact on those they serve.

Tim McSorley, national coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG), states: “Bill C-12 does not fix Bill C-2; it fast tracks some of the most egregious aspects, while still moving forward with the rest. Our government has made it abundantly clear that they will continue to fight for every privacy-violating measure Bill C-2 still contains and are only introducing Bill C-12 to get restrictions on migrant and refugee rights adopted sooner.”

Matt Hatfield, Executive Director of OpenMedia, stated that “The story of this legislative package is the same today as it was on day one of Bill C-2’s introduction; it’s about pleasing President Trump…Canadians reject this multi-layered concession of our rights and freedoms to American pressure, and we expect lawmakers to resoundingly vote against both bills.”

Karen Cocq, spokesperson for the Migrant Rights Network, said: “The government is trying to skirt around the overwhelming opposition to C-2 by repackaging it as something new. But C-12 leaves intact the measures to block refugee hearings, impose arbitrary retroactive one-year bars, and grant ministers mass immigration status-cancellation powers. Prime Minister Carney is showing that his government continues to be aligned with conservative Trump-like anti-migrant sentiment. But civil society groups remain united in rejecting this agenda and calling for the withdrawal of both bills.”

Other voices have their own concerns. Nick Boyce of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition says “Bill C-12’s accelerated scheduling will trigger faster illegal drug market innovations, making Canada’s already-lethal unregulated drug supply even more volatile…This legislation will make the toxic unregulated drug crisis worse while wasting resources that should go to the things we need, like housing, healthcare, and harm reduction.”

Is this fearmongering? C-12 would amend the Customs Act to secure our borders against illicit drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, and auto theft. It does this by obligating operators at ports of entry to provide, equip, and maintain facilities for the administration and enforcement of the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) so its officers can examine goods destined for export.

It would amend the Oceans Act to add security-related activities to Coast Guard duties so that they conduct patrols, plus collect, analyze, and disseminate intelligence for security purposes. It enhances the ability of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to share information on registered sex offenders with domestic and international law enforcement partners.

It introduces new eligibility rules for asylum seekers and changes how they are received, processed, and decided. Authorities would be able to cancel, suspend, or change immigration documents and to stop accepting new applications. Client information would be shared with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and with federal, provincial, and territorial partners.

The Minister of Public Safety doesn’t do much to stem concerns. He says “the government of Canada is committed to keeping our communities safe and working with our American partners to further strengthen our border. Bill C-12 will help advance key legislative changes needed now that will further equip our border and law enforcement agencies with the authorities and resources they need. We are ready to work with our colleagues in Parliament to ensure this important legislation becomes law.

$1.3 billion will be invested in keeping communities safe on both sides of the border. $200 million will be designated to Public Safety Canada to support enhanced gathering of intelligence on transnational organized crime, sharing information across Canada and with US law enforcement. $743.5 million will go to support the integrity of the asylum system, increasing processing capacity. 1,000 more RCMP officers and 1,000 more CBSA officers will join reinforcement efforts.

Where do fear and faith fit into this? For years, churches in Canada sent missionaries overseas to reach the world for Jesus. The news is clear. God has reaped a harvest and is sending many of those reached back to Canada to reach the unreached here. Others, also displaced, are arriving to hear the good news for the first time. Christians are under heavy persecution in much of the world. It would be a shame if we slammed the door too quickly and failed to offer the welcome and hospitality the followers of Jesus are to be known for.

Helicopter governments can only protect us from so much. Eventually, we have to trust God and what he is doing in our world.