Transnational Repression in the Age of Upheaval

In a policy brief for the Centre for International Governance Innovation, Citizen Lab researchers argue that the Canadian government must do more to protect diaspora members from transnational repression.

In the face of powerful authoritarian states and new surveillance capabilities, Canada’s domestic and foreign policy has hindered its ability to respond to threats of transnational repression. Ottawa’s pursuit of closer ties with autocracies, the government’s uncritical embrace of AI, and an increasingly authoritarian United States puts diaspora members at risk.

The authors lay out a number of recommendations to combat these challenges, including engaging with vulnerable populations and civil society, fulfilling obligations to asylum seekers, and reviewing the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement.

They also suggest that Canada avoid making new agreements on AI innovation, instead incorporating suggestions from the People’s Consultation on AI.