Canada S Refugee Determination Procedure

"With the passage of Bill C-31, "Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act", in December 2012, significant changes to Canada's refugee determination procedure came into effect. This soft-bound publication, authored by refugee law experts Jacqueline Swaisland and Lorne Waldman, provides a plain language explanation of the revised procedure."--Description de l'éditeur.

This Report, published in both English and French, analyses the existing refugee determination process in Canada and proposes three models for a new determination process so that Canada may more effectively fulfil its moral and legal obligations. As the 1951 UN Refugee Convention specifies no procedure for determining refugee status, Canada and other states parties to the Convention have developed their own internal procedure to meet their obligations. The Canadian Immigration Act of 1976 gives legislative force to the major provisions of the Convention. Sweeping changes, however, are required in Canadian legislation which concerns refugee determination. With regard to the refugee definition, Canadian legislation does not include any of the exclusion and cessation clauses in the Convention. The author recommends that all such clauses in the Convention be incorporated into Canadian law. The Report lists six major problems with the refugee determination process in Canada. The process is unduly long; there are no oral hearings by decision-makers; interpreters are of poor quality; access to the process is too restricted; there are inadequate sources of information available for decision-makers to evaluate the existence of a 'well-founded fear'; and there is a misuse of human resources. The author submits proposals to rectify these deficiencies. He introduces and evaluates three cost-efficient models for a new determination process. Each of the models provides for: a refugee officer to be the claimant's liaison with both the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission and the determination process; an independent refugee board to make the initial decision after an oral hearing; and appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal. The author suggests that Canada expand employment eligibility for refugees and implement a policy of immediate family reunification for all recognized refugees. He also recommends that claimants receive welfare assistance and legal aid and be guaranteed the right to have counsel present at all examinations conducted before the inquiry. The Report notes that the number of refugees Canada is asked to admit is small compared to the vastness of its land and resources.

Although Canada signed the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (and its Protocol) in 1969, procedures for determining claims to Convention refugee status made within Canada remained informal and discretionary until the current Immigration Act came into force in 1978. This paper focuses on Canada's refugee status determination system.

This publication reviews international refugee law, the history of immigration law in Canada, and addresses the need for reform, the administrative review, the current situation, interim control measures, and parliamentary action. It contains a chronology highlighting significant events related to this matter.