After immigrant deaths at border, calls to end U.S-Canada asylum pact grow louder

Protesters gather for Refugee Rights Day in front of Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino's constituency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, April 4, 2023. REUTERS/Kyaw Soe Oo

TORONTO (Reuters) - Dozens of protesters gathered in front of Canadian Public Safety Minister office in Toronto on Tuesday demanding an end of an asylum treaty between Canada and the United States after eight people died by drowning as they tried to cross into country.

The deaths come less than two weeks after the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) pact was amended, allowing refugee claimants to seek asylum in the first safe country they arrive in.