The British Columbia Supreme Court (“BCSC“) in R v. Appulonappa has struck down s. 117 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA“). Section 117 theoretically prohibited human smuggling. Its exact wording was: 117. (1) No person shall knowingly organize, induce, aid or abet the coming into Canada of one or more persons who are not in… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Refugees
Refugees, Article 1F, and Rehabilitation
Article 1F of the 1951 Refugee Convention excludes individuals who have committed serious crimes from being eligible for refugee status under the Convention. It states: Article 1F of the 1951 Refugee Convention states: F. The provisions of this Convention shall not apply to any person with respect to whom there are serious reasons for considering that:… Continue Reading
Canada Lists Designated Countries of Origin
The Government of Canada has published a list of the first Designated Countries of Origin (“DCO“). The initial list of DCOs covers 27 countries, 25 of which are in the European Union (edit: see below for a list of additional countries added on February 14, 2013): Austria Belgium Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France… Continue Reading
First Designation of Irregular Arrivals
On December 5, 2012, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (the “Minister“) made his first designation of irregular arrival under Bill C-31, the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act. The Washington Post is reporting that the 85 people were designated, including 35 children. Thirty of the irregular arrivals have already been arrested thus far. The… Continue Reading
Retroactive PRRA Termination Begins
Yesterday, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) began retroactively closing existing Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (“PRRA“) applications for which Bill C-31′s 12-month bar applies. Bill C-31 amended the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act’s (“IRPA“) provisions regarding who was ineligible to apply for a PRRA. IRPA now provides that: 112(2) .. a person may not apply for [a PRRA] if (b.1) subject to… Continue Reading
C-31 Regulation Released Regarding Timelines
Bill C-31, also known as the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act introduced strict timelines to Canada’s refugee determination process. The Canadian government has now introduced the Regulations which provide specifics as to the new timelines. Time limits for scheduling the first-level hearing, for filing and perfecting an appeal and for making a decision on an… Continue Reading
No Good Faith Requirement in Refugee Decisions
The Federal Court has affirmed in Yang v. Canada, 2012 FC 849 that there is no good faith requirement in refugee claims. For example, refugee claimants from countries where apostasy is a crime (such as Iran) can credibly claim persecution based on the fact that they converted from Islam regardless of what their motivations for… Continue Reading
Canada among top 10 global refugee destinations
CTV Ottawa is reporting that in 2011 Canada was one of the top 10 global refugee destinations. The list is: South Africa: 110,000 U.S.: 76,000 France: 52,100 Germany: 45,700 Italy: 30,300 Sweden: 29,600 Belgium: 26,000 U.K.: 25,500 Canada: 25,000 Ghana: 20,100 It’s interesting that both Belgium and Sweden took in more refugees than Canada, despite… Continue Reading