Immigration Canada Requires Reform
Opening Argument
In my opinion, we need some serious reform in
Immigration Canada. Each case, most particularly those of persons requesting refugee status in Canada, should be considered
subjectively and
independently from other cases.
While we
do need immigration-related regulations, they should serve as
guidelines only, and Immigration Canada should not hesitate to proceed outside the scope of those regulations if the particular case warrants.
Recommendation
The
Parliament of Canada should act in an expedient manner to remedy these, the concerns of what I would believe to be a majority of Canadians. I would propose that an institution be established which would have the authority to determine when a person should be granted status as a permanent resident, or as a temporary resident, as the situation may warrant, notwithstanding any current or previous rulings of Immigration Canada.
Therefore I would suggest, bearing in mind the concerns of those who have contributed and incorporating my own concerns, that the Parliament of Canada do move as soon as is reasonably possible to amend the
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in a manner at least somewhat consistent with the following:
(
1)
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is amended by adding the following Section after Section 18:
18.1. (
1) There is established a commission, to be styled the Humane Refuge Commission.
(
2) The Governor General may, from time to time, appoint a Commissioner to oversee and administer the Commission, and to appoint other persons, on the recommendation of the Commissioner, for the purpose of carrying out the mandate described in Subsection (
3).
(
3) The Commission shall, from time to time, consider a case brought before it regarding the status of a foreign national.
(
4) Upon the launch of the consideration of a case, pursuant to Subsection (
3) of this Section, no such foreign national shall be deported from Canada, and any existing order for deportation shall be deemed to have been stayed for the duration of such consideration.
(
4.1) It shall be permissable for a foreign national to be deported from Canada, notwithstanding Subsection (
4) of this Section, only where both the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness unanimously order such a deportation, and that the foreign national in question has an outstanding order for deportation that has been stayed by Subsection (
4) of this Section.
(
5) Where the Commission deems appropriate, the Commissioner shall order that an existing order for deportation issued by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration or through his or her Ministry be revoked.
(
6) Where the Commission deems appropriate, the Commissioner shall have the authority to grant status to a foreign national as a temporary resident or as a permanent resident, as the case may warrant, or that the deportation order for such a foreign national be reinstated, as the case may warrant.
(
7) A decision of the Commissioner shall not be overruled, except by the Federal Court of Appeal or by the Supreme Court, or by an explicit ordinance or Act of Parliament.
Closing Arguments
We need to be sensitive to the needs of refugees. When someone enters our country through some method not provided for in our legislative framework, or deemed unacceptable in such legislation, we should be compassionate — I would argue that quite often, or at least some of the time, such an entry took place because, for that person in their particular case, the "legal channels" were not a viable option.
We must as a nation, in my honest opinion, embrace those requesting refugee status, and send a clear message to
Immigration Canada that deporting foreign nationals without just cause and without humanitarian compassion is unacceptable, and that doing so is a practice that must be stopped at once. Canada is
so much better than that.
:arrow:
Important Links
- Access the Immigration and Refugee Board Web site by clicking here.
- Access the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act by clicking here.
:!:
Edit Corrected a typo; added an "Important Links" subheader.
