Refugees will be forced to wait while a determination is made about which country is responsible for assessing the claim. There will inevitably be disputes between the two countries about who is responsible for the determination in individual cases. Some cases will be taken to the courts for consideration, adding to the uncertainty, costs and delays. Delays and uncertainty constitute serious hardship for refugees and for their families. While awaiting determination on the allocation of the claim, refugees may be held in detention or be deprived of rights and entitlements such as work permits, education and access to health care.
Delays are also counter to the interests of the governments.
Apart from adding to the costs, delays actually provide incentives to non-refugees to enter the system. The agreement could therefore create the problem it is supposed to address. Significant additional costs are likely to be entailed by the new level of administration and determination. Despite this likely consequence the government denies having made any budgetary forecasts. This agreement may establish a precedent for others, particularly with European countries, creating an ever-widening buffer around Canada and the spectre of refugees in orbit without access to proper refugee determination.