A Brief Examination of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

Regarding asylum seekers in Nauru and PNG, conducts by the Australian Immigration Minister, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and DIBP officers should be attributed to Australia, as they make up decisions to remove asylum seekers to Nauru or PNG on behalf of the Australian government. Moreover, the conduct by Transfield, the contractor designated by the Australian government to manage the detention centres, may be attributable to Australia because it exercises elements of governmental control over the centres.

“An immigrant who can bring with him work for twelve people is to be welcomed with open arms even in a industrial colossus like the United States - welcomed anywhere it would seem but in Canada...Not only have the refugees brought work, but they have brought new customers”, (Document, 9).

A determination of convention refugee status is made by an immigration officer or tribunal, based on several factors under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“the Act”).

Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) determines whether or not someone is eligible to immigrate to Canada. There are 3 different sections of the policy, but in general, it factors in nationality, age, language ability, family members, education, work experience, and income. Within the different areas of the immigration policy, which are economic, family reunification, and refugee, there are more specific things looked at in applicants. In the economic area, applicants are rewarded points based on their level of education, ability to speak English and/or French, income, and previous work experience. The family reunification section includes spouses and children joining family members that are already living in Canada, or same-sex couples that are not legally married if there are restrictions in the country they are coming from. These immigrants have to provide proof and demonstrate that they are related to, married to, or in a committed relationship with the person they claim to be joining. A smaller portion of the immigrants coming to Canada are considered to be refugees. Refugees must be part of a humanitarian resettlement program, which is a Canadian program that helps people seeking protection outside of Canada with the help of international partners, or claim for asylum protection, which is where Canada provides protection for those who would be in danger if they returned to their own country.

Established in 1986, the primary mission of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is to “to serve as a forum to share information and analysis, educate communities and the general public, and to develop and coordinate plans of action on important immigrant and refugee issues” (NNIRR, n.d.). The organization also states that their primary focus is to fight for the rights of immigrants and refugee policy in the United States of America. The NNIR utilizes numerous tools, in their efforts of achieving the mission and organizational goals. The organization works to connect with other social and economic justice groups across the U.S. (NNIRR, n.d.). They also release reports on issues that are important to their goals; while

Immigrants who come to Canada are survivors of armed conflict or torture, victims of smuggling and human trafficking or even children and families, many of whom do not speak English or French. They come to this country to seek security and live out a healthier life, they are not criminals, nor are they facing criminal charges. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has an overflow of immigrants who enter the country seeking refuge, their solution to this overflow, while they wait for approval to stay in the country, is to transfer these vulnerable people, who most likely suffer with mental health issues due to their previous living conditions, and confining them without notice, to provincial prisons, even though they are not serving a criminal

The equality rights of Canadians are all protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Individuals have the right to not be discriminated based on enumerated (race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age and mental or physical disability) and analogous (sexual orientation, marital status, citizenship and Aboriginality-residence) grounds. Fortunately, Hagi-Yusuf filed a complaint, on enumerated grounds, to the government discussing how he wants to send a message to the company. Hagi-Yusuf wishes for an apology, adjusted hiring practices, and monetary compensations from the Kitchener financial services company. I chose this article because it highlights, racism still occurs in Canada whether it is discrimination against Aboriginals or other ethnic groups. People often relate racism to the United States of America because of the violence occurring with black people, though it’s important to know it occurs globally. Racism and discrimination against different ethnic groups and Aboriginals should be enforced because of the refugees entering Canada from the Middle East and Africa. As shown, people who came to Canada to escape a civil war, 20 years ago, are still seen as foreigners when Hagi-Yusuf was rejected for the job. The refugees entering Canada should not have to face discrimination based on their ethnic group and because of section 15: Equality Rights. The Canadian government should strive to enforce the right and make Canada a country where everyone is treated as

Immigration is just one of many critical components for Canada’s economic future and its immigration policies are centered primarily around humanitarian and economic concerns (Ansari, 2017). Canada requires that if you are to emigrate to its nation other than as a refugee, you must be a skilled worker or business person who will help build the economy. A system of points is utilized to distinguish applicants who qualify under these conditions from those who do not (Government of Canada: Immigration, 2017, July 20). Previously, the Canadian government also implemented a business immigration program that helped quicken the entry and permanent residency process for immigrants with business and/or management experience who were willing to make

Nancy Cobiness interacts the federal government in several ways. After the Cobiness family moved to Canada, they must apply for refugee protection in Canada through the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), which is a department under the federal government of Canada. Nancy should go to the CIC website and find out more about the application. The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) is another independent administrative tribunal that deals with immigration and refugee matters. Once the Cobiness family submit their application for refugee protection, the Refugee Protection Division (RPD), a division of the IRB will decide whether to accept them or not. If the IRB accepts their claim, they will receive the status of “protected person”,

The refugee crisis in Syria is one of the worst catastrophes to take place to date. Millions of Syrians have been displaced from their homes only to seek a safe haven somewhere else. Many have died simply fighting to survive. Canada has responded to the Syrian refugee crisis by resettling more than 25,000 refugees to date and will continue to do so into 2017. Canada has opened its arms to these individuals and made the decision to embrace them as one of their own. Factors that help explain Canada’s response includes providing refugees with immediate heath care, safe accommodations, and simply easing the process of assimilation within our society. Canada has been praised for its efforts, as all it’s fundamental principles circle maintaining

Since Confederation, Canada’s immigration landscape has been in a state of constant transformation. In 2014, the federal government announced major changes to its immigration system pressing many Canadians to raise questions about the immigration strategies sponsored by the country’s political parties.

Once entering Canada, each claimant has to be interviewed by a representative of the Canadian Citizenship and Immigration department. The applicant fulfills a form with the overview of the issues relating to identity, travel documents, education, employment history, date of birth, family members, marital status, criminal record, route to Canada, previous refugee claims etc.

The Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) is a non-profit lobby group devoted to assisting and advocating for the settlement and protection of refugees and migrants in Canada. The CCR is not a partisan organization, however their political leanings are liberal in nature due to their support for expedited immigration processes and increases in the intake of migrants and refugees into Canada. The institutional reforms proposed by the CCR focus on addressing issues such as speeding up processing times for refugees, reuniting families of refugees that have been divided, and the acceptance of refugees from areas that are often overlooked in light of the Syrian refugee crisis, such as Africa. The CCR justifies their reforms by suggesting to the government

To undertake a critical analysis of the Canadian approach, specifically the consideration of systemic disadvantage of First Nations individuals and make comparisons to the Australian system.

Nowadays a plethora of definitions exists in refugee issue, therefore, judicial harmonization should be one of the priorities to tackle this problem. There are refugees themselves, asylum seekers, forcibly displaced persons, stateless persons and finally economic migrants. Refugees are persons identified in Article 1 of the 1951 Convention, however any of the above-mentioned categories can fall under “refugee” status as well under relevant circumstances. Asylum seekers are persons, who have fled their countries and claim to be refugees, but their asylum applications are yet to be reviewed, hence they are not recognized as refugees in legal terms. Forcibly displaced persons may also qualify as refugees, should they cross the international border and their application for asylum is successful, i.e. they present substantial proof that they had to fled their home country because of the persecution. Stateless persons can become refugees on similar grounds, insofar they meet the requirements prescribed in Article 1 of the 1951 Convention. As for the economic migrants, there is also a chance that they could qualify as refugees, in case in addition to severe economic conditions in their home countries they also face the risk of persecution.