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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2010
OTTAWA –The Canadian Bar Association’s (CBA) National Citizenship and Immigration Law Section says Bill C-49, Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada’s Immigration System Act, wrongly targets and penalizes refugee claimants rather than the human smugglers who facilitate their arrival.
“The CBA understands the government’s desire to enact legislation that will discourage further irregular, mass arrivals and agrees that it is legitimate to target the activities of human smugglers,” says Gordon Maynard, a past chair of the CBA’s National Citizenship and Immigration Law Section. “Unfortunately, little of Bill C-49 is directed at them.”
The CBA cautions that Bill C-49’s mandatory and long-term detention proposals deny basic rights to refugee claimants. “Under the proposed scheme, refugee claimants would be denied a review of their detention for 12 months, refused appeal rights, and even recognized refugees would be denied access to permanent residence status for a minimum of five years. These provisions profoundly affect refugees in need of protection and impede their integration into Canadian society,” says the CBA brief.
The CBA also says that denying detention reviews for 12 months breaches Charter protections against arbitrary detention and right to prompt review of detention. The mandatory detention provisions and the other punitive measures also conflict with Canada’s international obligations under the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The CBA says the discretion to designate refugees who would be subject to these provisions is too broad and could be applied regardless of whether they are in fact part of a mass arrival. As proposed, the provisions could be applied retroactively to March 2009.
The CBA concludes that the flaws in Bill C-49 cannot be rectified by modest amendments. “For these reasons we do not support Bill C-49,” says Gordon Maynard.
The full 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 x 146
E-mail: hannahb@cba.org
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