“The Biggest Problem With You…”: Racial profiling and Canada’s program of extra-territorial migrant interdiction

Osgoode Hall Law Journal [forthcoming]

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper No. 4640147

46 Pages Posted: 28 Nov 2023

See all articles by Simon Wallace

Simon Wallace

York University - Osgoode Hall Law School

Benjamin Perryman

University of New Brunswick, Faculty of Law

Gábor Lukács

Air Passenger Rights

Sean Rehaag

Centre for Refugee Studies, Refugee Law Lab & Osgoode Hall Law School, York University

Date Written: November 21, 2023

Abstract

On April 3, 2019, Andrea and Attila Kiss tried to board an Air Canada Rouge flight from Budapest to Toronto. Andrea’s sister was ailing, and the couple planned to visit Canada for two months to support her family. Their travel was legitimate and lawful. Their documents were in order. But when they lined up to check in, Andrea made a mental note of a fact that was about to become relevant: as members of the Hungarian Roma community, they were the only racialized people in line.

Andrea and Attila did not reach the check-in counter. They were stopped and pulled out of line by a private security guard. They were questioned, their documents were photographed, and—minutes later—a Canadian immigration official forbade the airline from allowing them aboard the plane. And so, the only racialized people in line trying to get to Canada were profiled, turned around, and sent home without even a ticket refund. Later, they found out the official reason for their deboarding: Canada thought that there were enough “indicators” to conclude that they were not planning on staying temporarily, but permanently.

How did this work legally? Exploring that question is this paper's purpose. We show how a little examined tool—the Electronic Travel Authorization—enables the overseas screening of travellers to Canada. Using evidence unearthed in litigation, we show how this tool is used to racially profile travellers and trace the origins of the program. Then, we ask a simple question, is any of this legal?

Keywords: refugee interdiction, eletronic travel authorization, racial profiling, Canadian immigration law, aviation law

Suggested Citation

Wallace, Simon and Perryman, Benjamin and Lukács, Gábor and Rehaag, Sean, “The Biggest Problem With You…”: Racial profiling and Canada’s program of extra-territorial migrant interdiction (November 21, 2023). Osgoode Hall Law Journal [forthcoming], Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper No. 4640147, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4640147

Simon Wallace (Contact Author)

York University - Osgoode Hall Law School ( email )

4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

Benjamin Perryman

University of New Brunswick, Faculty of Law ( email )

Gábor Lukács

Air Passenger Rights ( email )

Halifax, Nova Scotia
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://airpassengerrights.ca

Sean Rehaag

Centre for Refugee Studies, Refugee Law Lab & Osgoode Hall Law School, York University ( email )

4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://www.osgoode.yorku.ca/rehaag-sean/

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