CHANGES IN CANADA’S REFUGEE LAW

SUPPORTED BY

FCJ Refugee Centre 208 Oakwood Ave. Toronto ON Tel 416 4699754

o Period of unprecedented change in federal immigration policieso Changes affect all aspects of immigrationo Changes also affect roles and ministerial powers

Pace and Scope of Change

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 CoveragePeople 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); andCertain 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 Governor-in-Council (GIC)

Some IRB decisions will remain subject to judicial review at the Federal Court

NEW REFUGEE PROCESS MAIN PROVISIONS

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

Broad ministerial discretion 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 applicationLoss 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:1. Refugee claimants2. Sponsored spouses3. Citizenship applicants4. Human smugglers5. Immigration consultants

Emphasis on Enforcement

Recent Examples:Active removal of failed refugee

claimantsCitizenship fraud tip line“Crack down on crooked” consultants

and regulatory councilBorder agreement with USEnforcement of employers on paper onlyHarsh 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 & RelationshipsMinisterial 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 CoveragePeople 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); andCertain 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 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