Questioning the United States' compliance with international refugee requirements, a Federal court judge ruled that Canada's reciprocal refugee-processing agreement with the United States should be reconsidered.

Canada entered into the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) with the US in 2004, establishing that asylum-seekers will receive equivalent standards of refugee protection in both countries. Under the agreement, individuals seeking asylum must make their claim in the first country in which they arrive (United States or Canada) - they cannot head to the border to make their application in the other country. The agreement has enabled Canada to send refugee claimants back to the United States, and has reduced the number of asylum claims in Canada significantly.

The Canadian Council for Refugees is challenging the STCA based on the argument that the United States is not a safe country for refugee claimants, given that many of the refugees who are sent back to the US are detained or deported. Mr. Justice Michael Phelan, the Federal Court judge who heard the allegation concluded that "...The United States' policies and practices do not meet the conditions set down for authorizing Canada to enter into a STCA," and that the Canadian government has not conducted a proper on-going review of the agreement since it was instated. He cited recent cases to demonstrate that the US "does not meet the Refugee Convention requirement nor the Convention Against Torture prohibition," and concluded that the STCA violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The agreement currently remains in effect, as the Federal Court has given both parties until January 14, 2008 to make and respond to submissions for an appeal.