Article 1E of the 1951 Refugee Convention states: This Convention shall not apply to a person who is recognized by the competent authorities of the country in which he has taken residence as having the rights and obligations which are attached to the possession of the nationality of that country. The leading case for interpreting … Read More
National Documentation Packages
The Immigration and Refugee’s Board (“IRB“) National Documentation Package (“NDP“) is the starting point for compiling information for a refugee case. The NDP contains information on almost every country on earth. Each package contains a selection of documents on human rights, security conditions, and other issues that are relevant to the determination of refugee protection … Read More
Cessation of Refugee Status
There are 2 ways that refugee protection can be removed. A person can cease to hold their refugee status if, for example, they voluntarily reavail themselves of the protection of their country of nationality or obtain protection from another country. They can also have their refugee status vacated if they obtained that status by directly … Read More
Refugee Claims by Number
The following chart shows refugee claims by province and year. Provinces/Territories 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 (Jan – Oct) Newfoundland and Labrador 5 5 — 5 10 10 15 35 20 5 Prince Edward Island — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Nova Scotia 40 50 20 … Read More
Ezokola and the Test For Complicity
In 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada in Ezokola v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) created a new test for determining complicity in Article 1F(a) exclusion cases. Article 1F(a) of the 1951 Refugee Convention provides that: The provisions of this Convention shall not apply to any person with respect to whom there are serious reasons for considering that: … Read More
Implausibility
One issue that applicants, and in particular refugee claimants, face is that their stories often sound implausible to third party observers. Valtchev v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2001 FCT 776 is the leading decision on implausibility findings in the refugee context. There, Justice Muldoon stated: A tribunal may make adverse findings of credibility … Read More
The Safe Third Country Agreement
Section 103(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (the “IRPA”) states that the Government of Canada can designate countries that it determines comply with international standards relating to the treatment of refugees as safe third countries. Section 101(1)(e) further states that refugee claimaints coming to Canada from these designated safe third countries cannot have their asylum … Read More
Designated Countries of Origin
From 2011 – 2019 Canada’s refugee system contained a list of Designated Countries of Origin (“DCO“). History Bill C-11, the Balanced Refugee Reform Act, received Royal Assent on June 29, 2010. It introduced sweeping changes to Canadian refugee law, including establishing the DCO regime. The government estimated that approximately 10% of all asylum claimants in … Read More
Inferring a Lack of Credibility
One of the biggest issues in immigration law is credibility. When a tribunal finds a lack of credibility based on inferences there must be a basis in the evidence to support the tribunal’s inferences. It is not open to tribunal members to base their decision on assumptions and speculations for which there is no real … Read More
Refugee Claimants from China
China is one of the top source countries for temporary resident visa applications to China. In 2016, the number of people who applied for temporary resident visas was 492,370. Of the people who were granted visas, 822 declared refugee status. The number is unbelievably small, and represents what Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada calls a … Read More