Transcript Slide 1

CHANGES IN CANADA’S
REFUGEE LAW
SUPPORTED BY
FCJ Refugee Centre 208 Oakwood Ave. Toronto ON Tel 416 4699754
Pace and Scope of Change
o Period of unprecedented change in federal
immigration policies
o Changes affect all aspects of immigration
o Changes also affect roles and ministerial powers
REFUGEE HEALTH CUTS
 The services cuts will also affect the children
of refugees, even those who suffer from
asthma or other chronic illnesses. Their
families will be unable to access medication
unless they can afford the out-of-pocket
expenses.
SUMMARY OF CHANGES TO THE IFH PROGRAM
Expanded Health-Care Coverage
People covered include:
Individuals who are or were
receiving income support through
the Resettlement Assistance
Program (RAP) or its equivalent in
Quebec, including:
Government-Assisted
Refugees (GARs);
Certain Visa-Office Referred
Refugees (VORs);
Joint Assistance Sponsorship
Program Refugees (JASP);
and
Certain people who are being
resettled in Canada as a
result of a public policy or
humanitarian and
compassionate
considerations on the
Minister’s own initiative.
No changes
g
Refugee Protection Division (RPD) will have public
servant decision-makers;
 Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) will have Governorin-Council (GIC)
 Some IRB decisions will remain subject to judicial
review at the Federal Court
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Bill C-31: Protecting Canada’s
Immigration System Act
Major Changes
 3 categories of refugee claimants:
- Regular claims
- Designated Country of Origin (DCO) list
- Designated group arrivals
 A right of appeal (for some)
 Rapid claim process
 Rapid removal of failed claim
 No Humanitarian Alternative
Regular Refugee Claimants:
216 Days
 Refugee claim: no changes
 Basis of Claim Document
 POE submitted 15 days from claim referral to IRB
 Inland Claim Basis of Claim doc submitted at the CBSA
interview
 IRB refugee hearing: 60 days
 Appeal to Refugee Appeal Division: 15 working days (21
days)
 Judicial Review to Federal Court: 45 days
 the 1 year rule after IRB negative decision:
 for Humanitarian & Compassioned application
 For Pre-Removal Risk Assessment consideration
 Assisted Volunteer Return Program
Designated Country of Origin (DCO):
60 days
 Designated Country of Origin List:
 By ministerial authority
 Review based on rejection rates (75%) on
withdrawal and abandonment rates (60%), and
on number of refugee claimants from a
countries (30 claimants or more)
 The problem: “Safe for some, not for others”
 Probable 70 countries will be listed as DCOs
(e.g. Hungary, Czech Republic, Mexico)
DCO continued
 IRB Hearing:
 in 30 days for inland claim;
 in 45 days for Port of Entry (PoE)
 No appeals
 No stay of removal for judicial review
Designated Irregular arrivals
 Irregular arrivals:
the group designated by the Public Safety Minister
Establishing identity,
investigations and/or human smuggling
cannot process group in timely manner,
arrival associated with criminal activity
Mandatory detention for 14 days.
first detention review at 14 days; then every 6 months. Minor younger
than l6 years will be exempted.
 Children under 16 exempted but may stay in detention
 Designation of irregular arrivals is retroactive to March 31, 2009
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Broad ministerial discretion
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Group not defined
Mode of entry not specified
Vague terminology
Consequences of designation...
 Refugee claim will be decided in detention
* Difficult to prove refugee claims in prison
* Access to counsel, interpreter, evidence
* Vulnerable claimant witnesses
 No appeal for failed claimants
 Removal from prison
Successful claimants cannot:
 Apply for 5 years for permanent residence,
family reunification and travel documents
 Marginalization
 Retroactive to March 31, 2009
No access to RAD for many types of claimants
 Persons from a DCO
 Claimants declared by the first-level IRB decision to have
“manifestly unfounded claims” or “no credible basis”
 Persons who claimed asylum at the Canada-U.S border
 Persons who have had their refugee status removed at a
vacation or cessation hearing
 Claimants who arrive as part of a designated irregular arrival (e.g. a
human smuggling event)
 Decisions resulting in loss of protected status (i.e. cessation or vacation
of protected status)
 Claimants whose claims were referred to the IRB prior to the coming into
force of the new system
Loss of permanent residence
 Permanent residence can now be lost
 Applies to all convention refugees (unless citizens)
 Grounds for losing permanent residence
- Fraud, criminality, (current law)
- re-acquire or re-avail nationality (C-31)
 Retroactive application
Loss of P. R. Process:
 Minister application to IRB
 If application granted: immediately removable and no
appeal
 Government justification
 Citizenship as solution
Refugees Selected Abroad
 Government messaging implies those
seeking asylum in Canada are less worthy.
This harms all refugees and claimants
“queue jumpers”
“bogus refugees”
Refugees selected abroad
 Elimination of source country program
Privately Sponsored Refugees
 Cap on new applications by Sponsorship
Agreement Holders
 “Group of five” and community sponsor
limited to refugees recognized by UNHCR or
by a state
Citizenship
Changes Implemented
 Harder exam and 75% passing grade
 No automatic citizenship for foreign-born
children of Canadians.
 Requirement to uncover face during ceremony
Changes proposed
 Proof of language capacity required with
application
 No automatic citizenship for all born in Canada
Citizenship
 No evidence of need for these changes
 Fewer people will become citizens – unable to
vote and fear deportation
 Requirement to remove face covering may
disadvantage certain cultures or create
impression that Canada is not accommodating
of differences
Emphasis on Enforcement
 Government is increasing emphasis on
enforcement (“crackdowns”) as part of the
law and order agenda. This affects:
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Refugee claimants
Sponsored spouses
Citizenship applicants
Human smugglers
Immigration consultants
Emphasis on Enforcement
Recent Examples:
 Active removal of failed refugee claimants
 Citizenship fraud tip line
 “Crack down on crooked” consultants and
regulatory council
 Border agreement with US
 Enforcement of employers on paper only
 Harsh treatment of “irregular arrivals” even if
bona fide refugees
Emphasis on enforcement
 Lack of evidence to warrant some
enforcement measures
 Broad brush rather than targeted approach to
enforcement
 There are other areas that cry out for
enforcement to protect vulnerable persons,
such as agricultural workers, live-in care
givers, low skilled temporary foreign workers
Emphasis on enforcement
 Public will support immigration if legislation
is followed, people do not abuse the system,
and the system is fair
 By imposing punitive measures, Canada may
be losing the “delicate balance”
 Negative messaging may result in loss of
public support for immigration
Redefining Roles &
Relationships
Ministerial power and role of Parliament
 Increased power to Minister and a move away
from traditional democratic processes
Changes made by Ministerial
Instruction in past 4 years.
• Moratorium on sponsorship of parents and grandparents and creation of
“super visa”
• Limiting new Foreign Skilled Worker applicants to those with arranged
employment, in specified occupation, or already here as student or TFW
• Caps on numbers of FSW applications that will be processed in total and
for each occupation annually
• Mandatory language testing for principal applicants in the FSW program
and Canadian Experience Class
• Moratoriums on new applications from Immigrant Investors and
Entrepreneur
• New eligibility stream for international PhD students
Proposed changes to expand use
of Ministerial Instruction
• Power to retroactively apply Ministerial Instruction to pending applications or
requests
• Power to establish new classes of permanent residents as part of the economic class
for up to five years
• Power to determine how many applications will be processed, if any, each year in any
category
• Power to apply Ministerial Instructions to sponsorship applications, permanent and
temporary resident applications, and applications for work permits and study permit
• Power to impose conditions on employers, to inspect to verify compliance with
requirement for temporary foreign workers, and to indicate the consequences of
failure to comply
REFUGEE HEALTH CUTS
 Implementation of IFHP Reform
The order-in-council entitled Order
Respecting the Interim Federal Health
Program, 2012 comes into force on June 30,
2012, and will apply to both current and future
IFHP beneficiaries.
REFUGEE HEALTH CUTS
 The services cuts will also affect the children
of refugees, even those who suffer from
asthma or other chronic illnesses. Their
families will be unable to access medication
unless they can afford the out-of-pocket
expenses.
SUMMARY OF CHANGES TO THE IFH PROGRAM
Expanded Health-Care Coverage
People covered include:
Individuals who are or were
receiving income support through
the Resettlement Assistance
Program (RAP) or its equivalent in
Quebec, including:
Government-Assisted
Refugees (GARs);
Certain Visa-Office Referred
Refugees (VORs);
Joint Assistance Sponsorship
Program Refugees (JASP);
and
Certain people who are being
resettled in Canada as a
result of a public policy or
humanitarian and
compassionate
considerations on the
Minister’s own initiative.
No changes
g
Conclusion
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Fast decisions/fast removals
No employment/no money
Lack of legal aid
More incorrect negative decisions
More claimants going underground or seeking
sanctuary
Fewer claimants in long-term limbo
Fewer humanitarian solutions
Potential system breakdown
Institutional alienation and loss of public support