Canada's Supreme Court has heard for the first time a Canada-US asylum pact case that will weigh whether the country can consider its southern neighbour "safe" for those seeking refugee status.
The outcome could determine whether Canada can trust that the US treats migrants properly, and could answer whether Canada holds any responsibility for migrants turned back at its border.
At the heart of the matter is the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) - a pact between the two countries in place since 2004 that requires refugee claimants to request protection in the first "safe" country they reach.
Campaigners in Canada have long argued that the STCA should be struck down on the grounds that migrants are at risk of mistreatment in the US and that the agreement violates their constitutional rights.
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