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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2010

OTTAWA – The Canadian Bar Association’s (CBA) National Citizenship and Immigration Law Section has welcomed Bill C-11, Balanced Refugee Reform Act, as it accelerates the refugee process, pledges new resources to process refugees more quickly, and offers an appeal process for refugee applications.

“While we need to conduct a careful review of the proposed legislation, at first blush there appears to be a number of key improvements to the existing refugee system,” says Stephen Green of Toronto, Chair of the CBA’s National Citizenship and Immigration Law Section.

The implementation of an appeal for refugees – through a newly created Refugee Appeal Division – represents an important new development. “At the present time, life and death decisions are being made by a single decision-maker,” explains Mr. Green. “Refugees would now have access to an appeal based on the merits of the case.”

The appeal process would allow for oral hearings at the discretion of the Refugee Appeal Division and also for the introduction of new evidence that may not have been available at the original hearing.

The CBA Section welcomes the increase in funding for the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) and the Federal Court of Canada, which would receive more members and judges respectively. “This will enable the IRB to render faster decision, without sacrificing quality,” says Mr. Green.

The CBA Section also agrees with the need to accelerate the refugee process. “Refugees need stability as they begin their new lives in Canada. Many are often desperate to sponsor family members and reunite families as quickly as possible,” adds Mr. Green.

The CBA Section has a number of concerns with the legislation, including the criteria for the Safe Country of Origin list. "The CBA Section urges the government to ensure that the Safe Country of Origin list is strictly based on human rights criteria, and that the reviewing committee includes independent human rights law experts."

As it analyzes the legislation in detail, the CBA Section will pay close attention to the limits on filing a humanitarian and compassionate application, and to the timelines to proceed throughout the process.

Previous CBA submissions are available from 2009 and 2007.

The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to support for the rule of law, and improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.

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