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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2010
OTTAWA – The Canadian Bar Association’s (CBA) National Citizenship and Immigration Law Section says that Bill C-11, Balanced Refugee Reform Act, is flawed and is calling for the elimination of the one year bar to humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) applications, the removal of the list of safe countries, and for the full implementation of the legislation as a package, rather than a staged introduction.
“After a thorough analysis of the Bill, we are urging the government to rectify risks of injustice and ultimately risks to the lives of refugees who are placing their trust in Canada to do the right thing for them and their families,” says Mitchell Goldberg of Montreal, executive member of the CBA Section.
While the CBA accepts that innovations are needed to make the system less attractive to those who make groundless refugee claims, it is urging the government to remain vigilant against injuring fundamental fairness and individual rights in the process.
Restrictions on Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) applications
The CBA strongly opposes the one year bar to H&C applications. “They provide a vital safeguard to ensure a remedy in circumstances of rights violations that do not meet the strict test for refugee claims. H&C applications do not impede the removal of failed claimants and the CBA has recommended several options for maintaining legitimate avenues to this relief.”
Designated Countries of Origin
The CBA says there are serious problems in empowering the government to designate a list of countries considered “safe” but from which a significant number of unfounded refugee claims are made, for the purpose of eliminating procedural rights for these countries’ refugees. “Refugee determination is an individualized assessment. Of even greater concern is the likelihood that the list will become politicized.”
Delayed Implementation
“The possibility of staged implementation of the Bill is a fatal flaw and will be disastrous for refugee claimants,” says the CBA submission. For example, claimants may not have the right to appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division for two years after Royal Assent, and the one year bar to H&C applications comes into effect immediately upon Royal Assent. This creates an unacceptably imbalanced reform.
The CBA sees the implementation of an appeal for refugees through the newly created Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) as a positive development. While concerned about limitations on new evidence, the CBA has been calling for the creation of the RAD for many years. “We think that an appeal on the merits is essential for fairness,” says Mitchell Goldberg.
The CBA submission is available on the CBA website.
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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MEDIA CONTACT:
Hannah Bernstein
The Canadian Bar Association
Tel: 613-237-2925, ext. 146
E-mail: hannahb@cba.org
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