The tightening of migration policies has resulted in a decreasein in the legal opportunities for migration, thus fostering migrant smuggling.In 2002 Canada drastically increased the penalties associated with this phenomenon.
These provisions are inadequate: they aim at preventing irregular migration rather than suppressing an alleged serious criminal activity. On the one hand, these provisions do not match the jurisprudential treatment of migrant smuggling in Canada and are inconsistent with foreign legislation and jurisprudence - the gravity of the crime is overrated. On the other hand, they are not in conformity with international law. By excluding the seeking of financial benefit from the definition of the prohibited activity,the legislations targets any form of help to undocumented migrants rather than specifically targeting migrant smuggling.