Inland Protection

That the CCR:

1. Request the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Chairperson of the Immigration and Refugee Board to study the interaction of the above two reports and to prepare an implementation plan to co-ordinate the changes to be made as a result of these reports;
2. Request that the CCR be made a full participant in the preparation of the above implementation plan;
3. Undertake to develop by the end of September 1994 a common position on the essential principles from both of the above reports that it will advocate in discussions with the government and the IRB.

That the CCR strongly support a full public inquiry into the actions of the Canadian military in Somalia, as recently announced by the Minister of Defence, and urge the Canadian government to proceed with this inquiry as soon as possible.

That the CCR strongly urge the Immigration and Refugee Board to develop and adopt Guidelines for determination of claims of persecution on the basis of sexual orientation and provide on-going education on the Guidelines and on combatting homophobia to members, refugee hearings officers and interpreters.

That the CCR write to the IRB expressing concern about the inadequacy of accurate and authentic information based on first-hand information, in particular the lack of sufficient information about up-to-date events in Iran and the true picture of the terrible situation of women in that country.

That the CCR reaffirm the folllowing principles to which we are committed:

1. The independence of Board members as decision-makers and of the IRB as a quasi-judicial tribunal.
2. The need for a credible, transparent and accessible mechanism within the IRB for dealing with complaints.
3. The need for an independent and impartial process for the appointment and reappointment of the members of the IRB.

We are furthermore deeply concerned with the barrage of media attacks on the refugee determination process. We are dismayed that no effort seems to have been made by the Minister's office to address the many distortions and inaccuracies contained in the various articles, when what is at stake may be the very principle of refugee protection.

That the CCR support the thrust of the Brief submitted by ICCR and raise the major recommendations of the Brief at its meeting with officials, namely:

1. providing training programs on the Convention for the various actors in immigration procedures;
2. allowing the children of non-citizens to benefit from the Canadian Human Rights Act as of right;
3. introducing provisions of the Convention into the Immigration Act and Regulations relating to overseas procedures; children in hearings and interviews; family reunion procedures; and access to essential health and social services.

1. The CCR communicate to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration the need for his commitment to a process of total organizational renewal of his Department with full involvement of stakeholders: Department management; employees and their representatives; and clients, including NGOs;
2. In this context, the CCR ask that urgent attention be given to the Vegreville situation;
3. As the CCR contribution to the Government Program review, the CCR communicate to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration all CCR resolutions with a cost-saving implication for the government.

that the CCR call on the Federal Court to adopt a practice of identifying refugee claimants by initials only and to take other appropriate measures to preserve confidentiality of private information for applicants seeking leave for judicial review of all immigration matters concerning risk to persons, including decisions by the Refugee Protection Division, Refugee Appeal Decision, the Immigration Division, and Minister’s delegates.