How Other Countries Do It – Canada The Evolution and Development of the Refugee Status Determination System in Canada and the Balanced Refugee Reform Act

Refugee protection decisions engage migrants’ fundamental life, liberty, and security of the person interests. As a result, refugee protection claimants enjoy institutional and procedural rights under conventional international law. These include the right to a fair adjudication of their protection claims by an independent tribunal. To be independent, a tribunal must meet the formal guarantees of security of tenure, financial security, and administrative independence and must actually be independent, in appearance and practice, from the executive and legislature, particularly in the appointments process. Refugee protection decisions must be made by first instance adjudicative bodies that either fully comply with the requirements of tribunal independence or whose decisions are subject to subsequent review by a tribunal that meets these requirements and has sufficient jurisdiction over the merits of the dispute. The Canadian refugee protection system fails, in certain respects, to meet international standards of independence. The Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board’s Refugee Protection Division enjoys statutory, objective badges of independence and appears to operate independently of the executive. However, the independence of Canadian officials engaged in eligibility determinations and in pre-removal risk assessments is very much in question because they have a closer relationship to executive law enforcement functions.

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Reforming the Canadian Refugee Determination System

Refuge ◽

10.25071/1920-7336.34358 ◽

1969 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 110-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Martin Collacott

Keyword(s):

Political Parties ◽

Asylum Seekers ◽

Supreme Court Of Canada ◽

Refugee Status ◽

Electoral Support ◽

Large Numbers ◽

Effective Manner ◽

The Supreme Court ◽

Determination System ◽

Do So

If Canadian refugee policy is to serve interests of Canadians as well as those of genuine refugees in an effective manner, far more radical changes will be needed than have been attempted to date. They must include the introduction of robust safe third country designations, a review of the 1985 Singh decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, and possible withdrawal by Canada of its accession to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. Other measures should also be considered such as placing an annual limit on the intake of refugees from overseas combined with that of successful incountry asylum seekers as well as establishing provision for temporary refugee status in Canada in addition to permanent resettlement. Measures should be taken to return Canada to its role primarily as a resettlement country for refugees selected abroad and not one that accommodates large numbers of asylum seekers making claims on our territory. With strong public backing for major changes, political parties that oppose such reforms will do so at the risk of losing electoral support.

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“They didn’t treat me as a Gypsy”: Romani Refugees in Toronto

Refuge ◽

10.25071/1920-7336.40302 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 54-62 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Cynthia Levine-Rasky

Keyword(s):

Asylum Seekers ◽

Hate Crime ◽

Refugee Status ◽

Refugee Claimants ◽

Determination System ◽

Meaning Of Home

With organized hate crime and institutionalized discrimination, thousands of European Roma have fled to Canada, where they claim refugee status. Their arrival coincided with far-ranging reforms to the refugee determination system in 2012–13 in addition to some actions aimed specifically at the Roma. Against this backdrop, former and current Romani refugee claimants substantiate the experience of migration and settlement, beginning with the first moments after arrival, to the tasks of finding housing and work. Agency and resilience are evinced, despite the government’s multiple instruments used against asylum-seekers. Romani refugees’ lives show how, for transnational groups, belongingness is always contested and the meaning of home is always nuanced.

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Language analysis in the United Kingdom's refugee status determination system: seeing through policy claims about ‘expert knowledge’

Ethnic and Racial Studies ◽

10.1080/01419870.2011.634506 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

pp. 670-690 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

John Campbell

Keyword(s):

Expert Knowledge ◽

Refugee Status ◽

Language Analysis ◽

Determination System

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Deterrents and Detention: An III Conceived Afterthought

Refuge ◽

10.25071/1920-7336.21516 ◽

1987 ◽

pp. 8-9

Author(s):

William Angus ◽

James Hathaway

Keyword(s):

Nova Scotia ◽

International Law ◽

Federal Government ◽

Refugee Status ◽

Canadian Charter ◽

Opposite Result ◽

Determination System ◽

Security Concerns ◽

The Government

In response to the clandestine arrivaI in Nova Scotia earlier this summer of 174 persons who subsequently claimed refugee status, the Federal Government recaUed Parliament two weeks ago to introduce Bill C-84. Styled the Deterrents and Detention Bill, its content is every bit as ominous as its title suggests. Although one of the Bill 's purposes is stated to he to preserve access for genuine refugees, clearly the opposite result is achieved by sorne of its provisions. In an attempt to prevent abuse of the refugee determination system and to respond to security concerns, the proposed legislation has been drafted in such sweeping language that a number of its clauses are in fairly obvious violation of both international law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Simply put, the Bill goes too far. In its haste to respond to a perceived crisis, the Government has failed to respect fundamentallegal standards.

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