H&C and medical inadmissibility

Resolution number
11
Whereas
  1. Section 25(1) of IRPA grants the Minister broad discretionary authority to exempt an inadmissible person from any provisions of the Act or Regulations, if there are humanitarian and compassionate reasons for doing so;
  2. The Regulations severely restrict this broad discretionary authority by requiring persons who are approved in principle for landing on H&C grounds to meet all admissibility requirements in order to be landed, including medical admissibility;
  3. A person who receives a positive H&C decision and who is found medically inadmissible is refused landing and may face removal from Canada to a place where their life is at risk, or, if granted a temporary resident permit (TRP) for three years, may then be denied provincial health insurance coverage during the three year TRP period and thus face a risk to their life due to inability to access adequate medical care in Canada;
  4. Applying the criterion of medical inadmissibility to a person who has been granted approval in principle on H&C grounds constitutes discrimination contrary to section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is an improper fettering of the Minister’s discretion under section 25(1) of IRPA;
Therefore be it resolved

That the CCR request an amendment to the Regulations requiring that a person who is granted approval in principle for landing on H&C grounds be exempt from medical admissibility criteria and be landed without delay.

Subject
Working Group
Inland Protection