CIMM – Supplementary Info for CIMM Appearance (Conditions Faced by Asylum Seekers) – November 18, 2022

English

Strategic Policy and Planning (SPP) - lead

How many asylum claimants currently hold work permits? – Office of Chief data Officer

As of October 31, 2022, more than 124,000 asylum claimants held a valid work permit.

Source: IRCC, Asylum Claimants as of October 31, 2022

Data are preliminary estimates and are subject to change.

Data more recent than September 30, 2022 has not been publicly released.

Do we have any asylum claim volume projections if the STCA was suspended? - Asylum Policy Branch (APB)

Population movements, including asylum claims, are influenced by a number of factors and variables. In the absence of past precedent, it is challenging to predict the impacts on asylum claim volumes if the STCA were suspended. This being said, the number of asylum claims that Canada receives from individuals entering from the U.S. would likely significantly increase over time given that the current restrictions on applications under the STCA would be removed, and any individual could make a claim at any land port of entry along the Canada-US border. In addition, Canada’s asylum system would likely be seen by potential claimants as even easier to access.

Information on IRB complaints process. - APB

IRB complaints process:

The IRB members make quasi-judicial decisions and have independence in their decision-making, but they are expected to comply with certain standards of conduct as outlined in the Code of Conduct for Members of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (the Code of Conduct or the Code).

The IRB complaints process provides a formal mechanism by which an individual can file a complaint about the conduct of an IRB member. A complaint about the conduct of a member may be made to the Office of the Ombudsperson by email or mail.

The complaints process was established to promote the integrity of the decision-making process and to help identify systemic issues or trends that require attention. The complaints process was substantially revised in 2012, and new procedures came into effect in 2017, which centralized the process. The IRB undertook third-party evaluation of the “Process for Making a Complaint about a Member” in 2021 that offered eight recommendations, which were all accepted by the board.

The IRB provides detailed annual reporting of the results of complaints.

G7 comparisons on asylum claims per country. – International & Intergovernmental Relations Branch

Joint Ops & SPP-lead

Definition of who is eligible for asylum, individualized risk vs. country conditions (looking at approval rates between Haiti & Turkey for example). - Asylum Policy Branch input to Resettlement & Asylum Strategic Operations Branch lead

When a person comes to Canada and makes an asylum claim, two questions must be asked.

1. Is this individual eligible to make an asylum claim? This is determined by an officer.
2. If yes, does this individual meet the definition of a convention refugee or a person in need of protection? This is decided by the Immigration and Refugee Board.

Therefore, there is a distinction between who is eligible to have their asylum claim referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board and who is actually found to be a convention refugee or a person in need of protection.

There are very limited circumstances where an asylum claimant is ineligible to be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board.

A refugee claimant may not be eligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) if the claimant is described by one of the grounds for ineligibility in section 101 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

This includes whether the individual was:

• recognized as a Convention refugee by another country they can return to;
• granted protected person status in Canada;
• made a refugee claim in another country (as confirmed through an information-sharing agreement);
• is not admissible to Canada on security grounds, serious criminal activity or human/international rights violations;
• made a previous refugee claim that was not found eligible; made a previous refugee claim that was rejected by the IRB or abandoned or withdrawn.

In addition, refugee claimants who arrive from the US at Canada-US land border may not be allowed to enter Canada to pursue their refugee claim due to application of the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement, unless they fit an exception/ exemption imbedded in the Agreement.

However, if an asylum claimant is eligible, it is the Immigration and Refugee Board who decides whether the claimant is in fact a convention refugee or a person in need of protection. In accordance with the law in Canada, refugee protection may be granted to persons who have a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, political opinion, nationality or membership in a particular social group (Convention Refugee), or persons who face a risk of torture, a risk to life or a risk of cruel or unusual treatment or punishment (Person in need of protection).

The Immigration and Refugee Board makes their decision statistics available on their public-facing website and based on this data, the five-year average overall acceptance rate is 60.6% (2017-2021).

What is the government doing to support the resettlement of refugees abroad given the high volume of support going towards asylum seekers?

• Canada’s refugee programs are first and foremost designed to save lives and offer protection to the displaced and persecuted. This is explicitly stated in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which, together with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and international conventions to which we are signatories, outline Canada’s humanitarian commitments with respect to refugees.
• This is accomplished through both of our refugee programs – Resettlement and Asylum have a role to play in meeting Canada’s international legal obligations and commitments.
• Canada has consistently been amongst the top resettlement countries globally for the past several years. Canada was the top resettlement country in the world last year, resettling over 20,000 refugees. Since 2015, Canada has resettled over 210,000 refugees (Open Data).
• Canada works with trusted referral agencies like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to resettle cases on the basis of vulnerability, and provides comprehensive financial and social support to refugees once they have arrived in Canada.
• Canada also operates the world’s largest and oldest private sponsorship of refugees program, harnessing the goodwill of Canadian citizens and permanent residents who wish to assist refugees in need of resettlement.