Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (S.C. 2001, c. 27)
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Assented to 2001-11-01
PART 1IMMIGRATION TO CANADA
Division 9Certificates and Protection of Information
Detention
Marginal note:Review of decision for detention
83. (1) Not later than 48 hours after the beginning of detention of a permanent resident under section 82, a judge shall commence a review of the reasons for the continued detention. Section 78 applies with respect to the review, with any modifications that the circumstances require.
Marginal note:Further reviews
(2) The permanent resident must, until a determination is made under subsection 80(1), be brought back before a judge at least once in the six-month period following each preceding review and at any other times that the judge may authorize.
Marginal note:Order for continuation
(3) A judge shall order the detention to be continued if satisfied that the permanent resident continues to be a danger to national security or to the safety of any person, or is unlikely to appear at a proceeding or for removal.
Marginal note:Release
84. (1) The Minister may, on application by a permanent resident or a foreign national, order their release from detention to permit their departure from Canada.
Marginal note:Judicial release
(2) A judge may, on application by a foreign national who has not been removed from Canada within 120 days after the Federal Court determines a certificate to be reasonable, order the foreign national’s release from detention, under terms and conditions that the judge considers appropriate, if satisfied that the foreign national will not be removed from Canada within a reasonable time and that the release will not pose a danger to national security or to the safety of any person.
Marginal note:Inconsistency
85. In the case of an inconsistency between sections 82 to 84 and the provisions of Division 6, sections 82 to 84 prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
Consideration During an Admissibility Hearing or an Immigration Appeal
Marginal note:Application for non-disclosure — Immigration Appeal Division
86. (1) The Minister may, during an admissibility hearing, a detention review or an appeal before the Immigration Appeal Division, make an application for non-disclosure of information.
Marginal note:Procedure
(2) Section 78 applies to the determination of the application, with any modifications that the circumstances require, including that a reference to “judge” be read as a reference to the applicable Division of the Board.
Consideration During Judicial Review
Marginal note:Application for non-disclosure — Court
87. (1) The Minister may, in the course of a judicial review, make an application to the judge for the non-disclosure of any information with respect to information protected under subsection 86(1) or information considered under section 11, 112 or 115.
Marginal note:Procedure
(2) Section 78, except for the provisions relating to the obligation to provide a summary and the time limit referred to in paragraph 78(d), applies to the determination of the application, with any modifications that the circumstances require.
Division 10General Provisions
Loans
Marginal note:Loans
88. (1) The Minister of Finance may, from time to time, advance to the Minister out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, up to the maximum amount that is prescribed, sums that the Minister may require in order to make loans for the purposes of this Act.
Marginal note:Regulations
(2) The regulations may provide for any matter relating to the application of this section, and may include provisions respecting classes of persons to whom, and the purposes for which, the loans may be made.
Fees
Marginal note:Regulations
89. The regulations may govern fees for services provided in the administration of this Act, and cases in which fees may be waived by the Minister or otherwise, individually or by class.
Social Insurance Number Cards
Marginal note:Minister directs special cards to be issued
90. The Minister may direct the Canada Employment Insurance Commission to issue to persons, other than Canadian citizens or permanent residents, Social Insurance Number Cards, by which the holders of such cards are identified as persons who may be required under this Act to obtain authorization to work in Canada.
Representation
Marginal note:Regulations
91. The regulations may govern who may or may not represent, advise or consult with a person who is the subject of a proceeding or application before the Minister, an officer or the Board.
Material Incorporated in Regulations
Marginal note:Incorporated material
92. (1) A regulation may incorporate by reference the following material:
(a) material produced by a person or body other than the Governor in Council;
(b) material referred to in paragraph (a) that has been subsequently adapted or edited in order to facilitate its incorporation for the purposes of the regulation;
(c) material that has been developed jointly with another government or government agency for the purpose of harmonizing the regulation with other laws; and
(d) material that is technical or explanatory in nature, such as specifications, classifications, illustrations or graphs, as well as examples that may assist in the application of the regulation.
Marginal note:Amended from time to time
(2) Material may be incorporated by reference on a specified date or as amended from time to time.
Marginal note:Incorporated material is not a regulation
(3) For greater certainty, material that is incorporated by reference in a regulation made under this Act is not a regulation for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act.
Marginal note:Statutory Instruments Act
93. Instructions given by the Minister under this Act and guidelines issued by the Chairperson under paragraph 159(1)(h) are not statutory instruments for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act.
Report to Parliament
Marginal note:Annual report to Parliament
94. (1) The Minister must, on or before November 1 of each year or, if a House of Parliament is not then sitting, within the next 30 days on which that House is sitting after that date, table in each House of Parliament a report on the operation of this Act in the preceding calendar year.
Marginal note:Contents of report
(2) The report shall include a description of
(a) the activities and initiatives taken concerning the selection of foreign nationals, including measures taken in cooperation with the provinces;
(b) in respect of Canada, the number of foreign nationals who became permanent residents, and the number projected to become permanent residents in the following year;
(b.1) in respect of Canada, the linguistic profile of foreign nationals who became permanent residents;
(c) in respect of each province that has entered into a federal-provincial agreement described in subsection 9(1), the number, for each class listed in the agreement, of persons that became permanent residents and that the province projects will become permanent residents there in the following year;
(d) the number of temporary resident permits issued under section 24, categorized according to grounds of inadmissibility, if any;
(e) the number of persons granted permanent resident status under subsection 25(1); and
(f) a gender-based analysis of the impact of this Act.
PART 2REFUGEE PROTECTION
Division 1Refugee Protection, Convention Refugees and Persons in Need of Protection
Marginal note:Conferral of refugee protection
95. (1) Refugee protection is conferred on a person when
(a) the person has been determined to be a Convention refugee or a person in similar circumstances under a visa application and becomes a permanent resident under the visa or a temporary resident under a temporary resident permit for protection reasons;
(b) the Board determines the person to be a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection; or
(c) except in the case of a person described in subsection 112(3), the Minister allows an application for protection.
Marginal note:Protected person
(2) A protected person is a person on whom refugee protection is conferred under subsection (1), and whose claim or application has not subsequently been deemed to be rejected under subsection 108(3), 109(3) or 114(4).
Marginal note:Convention refugee
96. A Convention refugee is a person who, by reason of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion,
(a) is outside each of their countries of nationality and is unable or, by reason of that fear, unwilling to avail themself of the protection of each of those countries; or
(b) not having a country of nationality, is outside the country of their former habitual residence and is unable or, by reason of that fear, unwilling to return to that country.
Marginal note:Person in need of protection
97. (1) A person in need of protection is a person in Canada whose removal to their country or countries of nationality or, if they do not have a country of nationality, their country of former habitual residence, would subject them personally
(a) to a danger, believed on substantial grounds to exist, of torture within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention Against Torture; or
(b) to a risk to their life or to a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if
(i) the person is unable or, because of that risk, unwilling to avail themself of the protection of that country,
(ii) the risk would be faced by the person in every part of that country and is not faced generally by other individuals in or from that country,
(iii) the risk is not inherent or incidental to lawful sanctions, unless imposed in disregard of accepted international standards, and
(iv) the risk is not caused by the inability of that country to provide adequate health or medical care.
Marginal note:Person in need of protection
(2) A person in Canada who is a member of a class of persons prescribed by the regulations as being in need of protection is also a person in need of protection.
Marginal note:Exclusion — Refugee Convention
98. A person referred to in section E or F of Article 1 of the Refugee Convention is not a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection.
Division 2Convention Refugees and Persons in Need of Protection
Claim for Refugee Protection
Marginal note:Claim
99. (1) A claim for refugee protection may be made in or outside Canada.
Marginal note:Claim outside Canada
(2) A claim for refugee protection made by a person outside Canada must be made by making an application for a visa as a Convention refugee or a person in similar circumstances, and is governed by Part 1.
Marginal note:Claim inside Canada
(3) A claim for refugee protection made by a person inside Canada must be made to an officer, may not be made by a person who is subject to a removal order, and is governed by this Part.
Marginal note:Permanent resident
(4) An application to become a permanent resident made by a protected person is governed by Part 1.
Examination of Eligibility to Refer Claim
Marginal note:Referral to Refugee Protection Division
100. (1) An officer shall, within three working days after receipt of a claim referred to in subsection 99(3), determine whether the claim is eligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division and, if it is eligible, shall refer the claim in accordance with the rules of the Board.
Marginal note:Decision
(2) The officer shall suspend consideration of the eligibility of the person’s claim if
(a) a report has been referred for a determination, at an admissibility hearing, of whether the person is inadmissible on grounds of security, violating human or international rights, serious criminality or organized criminality; or
(b) the officer considers it necessary to wait for a decision of a court with respect to a claimant who is charged with an offence under an Act of Parliament that is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 10 years.
Marginal note:Consideration of claim
(3) The Refugee Protection Division may not consider a claim until it is referred by the officer. If the claim is not referred within the three-day period referred to in subsection (1), it is deemed to be referred, unless there is a suspension or it is determined to be ineligible.
Marginal note:Duty of claimant
(4) The burden of proving that a claim is eligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division rests on the claimant, who must answer truthfully all questions put to them. If the claim is referred, the claimant must produce all documents and information as required by the rules of the Board.
Marginal note:Ineligibility
101. (1) A claim is ineligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division if
(a) refugee protection has been conferred on the claimant under this Act;
(b) a claim for refugee protection by the claimant has been rejected by the Board;
(c) a prior claim by the claimant was determined to be ineligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division, or to have been withdrawn or abandoned;
(d) the claimant has been recognized as a Convention refugee by a country other than Canada and can be sent or returned to that country;
(e) the claimant came directly or indirectly to Canada from a country designated by the regulations, other than a country of their nationality or their former habitual residence; or
(f) the claimant has been determined to be inadmissible on grounds of security, violating human or international rights, serious criminality or organized criminality, except for persons who are inadmissible solely on the grounds of paragraph 35(1)(c).
Marginal note:Serious criminality
(2) A claim is not ineligible by reason of serious criminality under paragraph (1)(f) unless
(a) in the case of inadmissibility by reason of a conviction in Canada, the conviction is for an offence under an Act of Parliament punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 10 years and for which a sentence of at least two years was imposed; or
(b) in the case of inadmissibility by reason of a conviction outside Canada, the Minister is of the opinion that the person is a danger to the public in Canada and the conviction is for an offence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an offence under an Act of Parliament that is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 10 years.
Marginal note:Regulations
102. (1) The regulations may govern matters relating to the application of sections 100 and 101, may, for the purposes of this Act, define the terms used in those sections and, for the purpose of sharing responsibility with governments of foreign states for the consideration of refugee claims, may include provisions
(a) designating countries that comply with Article 33 of the Refugee Convention and Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture;
(b) making a list of those countries and amending it as necessary; and
(c) respecting the circumstances and criteria for the application of paragraph 101(1)(e).
Marginal note:Factors
(2) The following factors are to be considered in designating a country under paragraph (1)(a):
(a) whether the country is a party to the Refugee Convention and to the Convention Against Torture;
(b) its policies and practices with respect to claims under the Refugee Convention and with respect to obligations under the Convention Against Torture;
(c) its human rights record; and
(d) whether it is party to an agreement with the Government of Canada for the purpose of sharing responsibility with respect to claims for refugee protection.
Marginal note:Review
(3) The Governor in Council must ensure the continuing review of factors set out in subsection (2) with respect to each designated country.
Suspension or Termination of Consideration of Claim
Marginal note:Suspension
103. (1) Proceedings of the Refugee Protection Division and of the Refugee Appeal Division are suspended on notice by an officer that
(a) the matter has been referred to the Immigration Division to determine whether the claimant is inadmissible on grounds of security, violating human or international rights, serious criminality or organized criminality; or
(b) an officer considers it necessary to wait for a decision of a court with respect to a claimant who is charged with an offence under an Act of Parliament that may be punished by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 10 years.
Marginal note:Continuation
(2) On notice by an officer that the suspended claim was determined to be eligible, proceedings of the Refugee Protection Division and of the Refugee Appeal Division shall continue.
Marginal note:Notice of ineligible claim
104. (1) An officer may, with respect to a claim that is before the Refugee Protection Division or, in the case of paragraph (d), that is before or has been determined by the Refugee Protection Division or the Refugee Appeal Division, give notice that an officer has determined that
(a) the claim is ineligible under paragraphs 101(1)(a) to (e);
(b) the claim is ineligible under paragraph 101(1)(f);
(c) the claim was referred as a result of directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter and that the claim was not otherwise eligible to be referred to that Division; or
(d) the claim is not the first claim that was received by an officer in respect of the claimant.
Marginal note:Termination and nullification
(2) A notice given under the following provisions has the following effects:
(a) if given under any of paragraphs (1)(a) to (c), it terminates pending proceedings in the Refugee Protection Division respecting the claim; and
(b) if given under paragraph (1)(d), it terminates proceedings in and nullifies any decision of the Refugee Protection Division or the Refugee Appeal Division respecting a claim other than the first claim.
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