| Bill C-31 - What it means |
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REFUGEE DETERMINATION: GROUNDS FOR PROTECTION
(Sections 89-90)
Bill C-31 combines what are currently two separate decisions (refugee
determination and risk review), providing a single decision at the Immigration
and Refugee Board (IRB).
For each claim for "refugee protection", the IRB will decide whether
the person is:
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A Convention Refugee (same as in current Act)
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A person in need of protection, meaning:
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a person at risk of torture in their home country (as defined in
the Convention Against Torture)
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a person whose life would be at risk or who risks cruel and unusual
treatmentor punishment, but only if the person was unwilling or unable
to seek state protection, there is no internal flight alternative, the
risk is not related to internationally acceptable and lawful sanctions,
and the risk is not related to the availability of medical care.
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a member of a class of persons established by Regulations to be
in need of protection.
The exclusion clauses of the Refugee Convention (Section E or F) apply
to both Convention Refugees and persons in need of protection. (Section
E excludes people who are firmly resettled; Section F excludes war criminals,
those who have committed a serious non-political crime outside the country
of refuge and anyone guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles
of the United Nations).
Exactly the same definitions as above apply to decisions made in the
Pre-removal Risk Assessment.
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The consolidation of decision-making at the Immigration and Refugee
Board has been recommended by the Canadian Council for Refugees, in the
interests firstly of fairness, and secondarily of efficiency.
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The specific reference to the Convention against Torture (CAT) is
new and important. However, the definition does not fully comply with the
CAT which, unlike the Refugee Convention, has no exclusion clauses. Article
3 of the CAT prohibits the removal of any one to torture, no matter
what they may have done in the past or be likely to do in the future. The
absoluteness of the rule reflects the international community's obligation
to refuse any complicity with torturers.
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The threshold for risk of cruel and unusual treatment is, like the
current post claims risk review (PDRCC), quite high. The risk must be particular
to the person, meaning that no protection will be offered to people who
face a very serious but generalized risk.