31 May 2024 - Budget Implementation Act (BIA) 2024 - Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance studying Bill C-69

Refugee claim process: new step pre-referral The Budget Implementation Act will amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) to create a new stage in the process between a refugee claim being determined eligible and the claim being referred to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). [...] • The new provisions also open the door to the Minister to request documents from claimants that are not currently required for the claim to be referred to the IRB but are needed only by the time IRB hearing itself. [...] Giving the Minister the power to hold the claim back indefinitely from referral until requested documents are received will not only lead to delays for some claimants, but also undermine the role of the IRB as the tribunal responsible for deciding what evidence is necessary to determine the claim. [...] (Prior to 2019 amendments, the IRPA gave the Minister 3 days to consider whether the claim was eligible to be referred, and the claim was deemed referred if no decision was taken within the 3 days.) 100.1 (1) Subject to subsections 100(1) to (3) and section 102.2, the Minister must, within one month of receipt of the documents and information referred to in subsection 100(4), refer a claim for ref. [...] With the proposed elimination in the BIA of Conditional Removal Orders for claimants, unaccompanied minors will no longer be referred to the Immigration Division and 7 Submission on Budget Implementation Act 2024 will not be appointed a designated representative by the IRB until the claim is referred to the RPD.