Canadian immigration and refugee law

Canadian immigration and refugee law concerns the area of law related to the admission of foreign nationals into Canada, their rights and responsibilities once admitted, and the conditions of their removal. The primary law on these matters is in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, whose goals include economic growth, family reunification, and compliance with humanitarian treaties.

Enabling law

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

The primary statute regarding immigration and refugee law in Canada is the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), accompanied by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. First introduced in 2002 to replace the former Immigration Act of 1976, the many changes brought on by IRPA included broader discretion for immigration officers when evaluating applications.

Other relevant legislation include the Citizenship Act, and certain immigration and refugee-related provisions of the Criminal Code.

Immigration Act, 1976

The Immigration Act, 1976, insured by the Parliament of Canada, focused on who should be allowed into Canada, rather than on who should be kept out. The Act came into force in 1978, along with new immigration regulations, giving more power to the provinces to set their own immigration laws and defined "prohibited classes" in much broader terms. Individuals who could become a burden on social welfare or health services would now be refused entry, rather than specific categories of people, e.g., those who identified themselves as homosexual, disabled, and so on.

Further, it created four new classes of immigrants who could come to Canada: refugees, families, assisted relatives, and independent immigrants. While independent immigrants had to take part in the points system, other classes did not have to take part in this test so long as they passed basic criminal, security, and health checks. The Act also created alternatives to deportation for less serious criminal or medical offences, since deportation meant the immigrant was barred from entering Canada for life. After 1978, the government could issue 12-month exclusion orders and a departure notice, if the cause for a person's removal was not serious, but in some cases, it could be severe.

The enforcement team with the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada was responsible for enforcing the Act at border crossings with the United States as well as checkpoints at international airports in Canada.

The 1976 Immigration Act was replaced by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) in 2002.[1]

Admission classes

Canadian immigration policy allows several classes of people to enter.

The Family Class allows permanent residents or citizens to sponsor a family member's or spouse's entrance into the country. In the case of a same sex couple, if they are immigrating from a country where they cannot marry, proof of a long-term relationship is required.

The Economic Class provides admission to applicants (and their immediate families) who are supposed to be likely to find employment and contribute to the Canadian economy. This is determined by ranking candidates against one another, and the weighing of factors such as education, language skills, and work experience.[2] Some 60,000 come to Canada each year under the International Experience Canada initiative, which provides Working Holiday, internship, and study visas.[3]

Any immigrant can claim to be a refugee and it will be investigated. Claims for refugee status and for admissibility as well as appeals of the decisions of the immigration officers are directed to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). The IRB is the largest tribunal in Canada and hears over 25,000 claims a year. Decision of the IRB can be appealed to the Federal Court, which hears about 2,500 appeals on immigration and refugee matters a year.[4]

Issues

The Parliament of Canada has previously debated whether to allow former U.S. war resisters, such as soldiers avoiding re-deployment to Iraq, to stay in Canada.[5] In mid-2010, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that Jeremy Hinzman, an American soldier seeking asylum, should be allowed to remain in Canada based on his pacifist religious beliefs.[6] A Private Member's Bill on the issue of war resisters, by former Member of Parliament Gerard Kennedy, was defeated in late September.[7]

The Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act (aka Bill C-31), aims to amend Canadian immigration and refugee law.[8]

In June 2012, the Canadian government introduced a series of changes affecting the Interim Federal Health Program which covers refugee health care. Some refugee advocates have argued for rescinding the Canada–United States Safe Third Country Agreement. Under this agreement, those from third countries seeking refugee status who attempt to enter Canada at a legal border crossing will be turned back, whereas those who arrive illegal will have their claims processed.

References

1. "Facts and figures 2009 – Immigration overview: Permanent and temporary residents." Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 2010-08-01. Archived from the original on 2017-04-08. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
2. "Everything you need to know about Express Entry". Moving2Canada. 2016-11-09. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
3. "How to get a Working Holiday Visa in Canada". Moving2Canada. 2017-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
4. Canadian Court of Appeals (May 6, 2019). "Refugee Appeals". Queens Printer. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
5. Keen, Judy (May 28, 2010). "In Canada once more, U.S. troops fleeing a war". USA Today. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
6. "Win for war resisters". Toronto Star. July 8, 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
7. "LEGISinfo - Private Member's Bill C-440 (40-3)". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
8. "House Government Bill C-31". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 7 April 2012.