The member churches of The Canadian Council of Churches are united in their commitment to understanding that each person bears the image of our Creator. Thus each and every person deserves dignity, respect, compassion, and peace. The treatment of individuals, especially the most vulnerable, under the US asylum system, is antithetical to our core Christian values. We are grateful to stand in solidarity with Amnesty International and the Canadian Council for Refugees as we insist that Canada stay true to its ideals as enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Supporters of refugee rights, including former refugee claimants now living in Ontario, will hold a rally outside the Federal Court in Toronto as hearings into a historic constitutional challenge against Canada’s Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) with the United States get underway.
Participants will speak out loudly in solidarity with people seeking refugee protection and call on Canada to withdraw from the agreement, under which Canada turns back most refugee claimants who attempt to enter via the United States. They will send a powerful message to decision-makers: that people fleeing danger deserve a fair chance to seek safety in Canada, not to be turned away at the border and returned to the United States, where they risk detention, family separation and deportation to countries where they face further harm.
Join the Rally
When: Monday, November 9, 2026, 12:30 p.m. ET
Where: Outside the Federal Court, 180 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario
Who: The rally is being organized by FCJ Refugee Centre, Matthew House Toronto, Amnesty International Canada, the Canadian Council for Refugees, and The 519.
Speakers will include:
- Sharry Aiken, law professor and Co-Chair, Legal Affairs Committee, Canadian Council for Refugees
- Julia Sande, Strategic Litigation, Migrant and Refugee Rights Campaigner, Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section
- Heather Yountz, a U.S. immigration attorney and refugee rights advocate
- Karlene Williams Clarke, Project Director (Community Organizing), The 519
During hearings this fall, the Federal Court will examine whether the STCA violates equality rights guaranteed under section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The applicants in the case will argue that Canada’s participation in the STCA is unconstitutional because it disproportionately harms racialized women and girls fleeing gender-based persecution, members of the LGBTQI+ community, and children. The case will highlight the current U.S. government’s escalating attacks on refugee rights, including the ICE’s violent campaign of detention and deportation against migrants and refugees across the country.
Amnesty International Canada, the Canadian Council for Refugees, and The Canadian Council of Churches — along with former refugee claimants whose rights have been affected by the STCA – are co-plaintiffs in the case. The hearings are scheduled for November 9, 10 and 12, and December 16.
For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact:
- Cory Ruf, Media Officer, Amnesty International Canadian Section (English-Speaking), media@amnesty.ca
- Freddy Louissaint, CCR Communications Director, media@ccrweb.ca +1-263-381-3974
- Karlene Williams-Clarke, Project Director–Community Organizing, The 519, kwilliamsclarke@The519.org, +1-416-355-6785
- Emma Reid, Director–Strategic Communications, The 519, ereid@the519.org
- Carolina Teves, Senior Director, FCJ, cteves@fcjrefugeecentre.org, +1-416-469-9754 ext. 240
