The Federal Court of Appeal in Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) v. Mudalige Don has answered the following certified question: Does the Minister’s issuance of an exclusion order pursuant to subparagraph 228(1)(c)(v) of the [Regulations] before the member of a crew subject to the exclusion order has any contact with the immigration authorities constitute a breach of procedural fairness because it deprives the foreign national of the opportunity to make a refugee claim? Background and Facts Crew members may enter Canada without temporary resident visas, work permits, or even passports. They do not need to report individually at ports of entry. Their status as crew members enables them to disembark and circulate freely so long as they remain crew members and leave on the ship on which they came. However, pursuant to s. 184(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (“IRPR”), a foreign national who enters Canada as a member of a crew must leave Canada within 72 hours of ceasing to be a member of a crew. The refugee claimant in Mudalige Don was a Sri Lankan crew member aboard the foreign registered vessel M/V Lake Ontario. On November 27, 2011, the ship docked in Oshawa. On December 2, 2011, the ship’s agent filed … Read More