Ottawa, February 4, 2008 — The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today announced ten full-time appointments and four reappointments to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB).
Patricia Esther DeGuire, Edward J. Bosveld, Marc Gobeil, Nadra S. Qadeer, Dominique Setton-Lemar and Berto Volpentesta were each appointed to a three-year term in the Toronto office. Norman Forest and Marie-Josée Hadaya were each appointed to a three-year term in the Montréal office. Douglas Cochran and Rasik Shah were appointed in Vancouver for terms of three years and one year respectively. Michael Hamelin, Sylvie Lévesque and José Tshisungu Wa Tshisungu were each reappointed to a one-year term in Montréal and Marnie Armstrong was reappointed to a one-year term in Calgary. These appointments and reappointments were made in accordance with the IRB’s merit-based appointment process.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Ms. DeGuire was a Member of the Board of Directors with Legal Aid Ontario and Adjudicator/Mediator for the Government of Ontario. She was also Vice-Chair of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. She received her Bachelor of Laws and Masters of Law from York University Osgoode Law School. Ms. DeGuire was called to the bar in 1993.
Prior to his appointment to the Board, Mr. Bosveld held various positions with the Christian Labour Association of Canada, the most recent being Legal Affairs Coordinator and Regional Director. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Redeemer University College and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Windsor.
Prior to his appointment to the Board, Mr. Gobeil held various positions with the Canada Border Services Agency, the most recent being Customs Adjudicator. He received his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Ottawa and was admitted to the Quebec bar in 2006.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Ms. Qadeer worked in the Office for Victims of Crime with the U.S. Department of Justice and was also Program Director for Safe Horizon Incorporation in New York, N.Y. She received her Bachelor of Social Work from McGill University, her Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto and her Master of Public Administration from Queen’s University.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Ms. Setton-Lemar was an investigator for the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants and Compliance Manager and Privacy Officer with Trans Union of Canada Inc. She also had her own general private practice. She received her Bachelor of Arts from McGill University and her Bachelor of Laws from the Université de Montréal.
Prior to his appointment to the Board, Mr. Volpentesta was Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants and also Senior Consultant with Cannex Immigration Specialists. He received his Bachelor of Arts from York University and his Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto.
Prior to his appointment to the Board, Mr. Forest was Senior Policy Advisor for the Minister of Labour and Minister of Economic Development Agency of Canada for the regions of Quebec. He also spent a number of years as a freelance communications consultant for various institutional clients. Mr. Forest studied in the field of communications at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Ms. Hadaya was Refugee Protection Officer with the IRB for several years and also spent a few years as Counsel with the Board. She received her Bachelor of Laws from the Université de Montréal and was called to the Quebec bar in 1988.
Prior to his appointment to the Board, Mr. Cochran, a lawyer, was Past Secretary of the Immigration Subsection of the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association and also a former part-time appointee of the IRB. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of British Columbia and a Masters of Arts from Simon Fraser University.
Prior to his appointment to the Board, Mr. Shah was an immigration consultant in Vancouver and also worked at the Canada Border Services Agency as Hearings Officer for the Immigration Division. Mr. Shah has also been a member of the Law Society of British Columbia and practised law until 1995.
Prior to this reappointment, Mr. Hamelin owned a private practice specializing in corporate, commercial, family and immigration law and in general litigation. He also served as President of Alliance Quebec and was a founding member of the Parc-Extension community action committee. Mr. Hamelin received his diploma in Social Sciences from Vanier College, his Bachelor of Civil Law and Bachelor of Laws from McGill University and his Bachelor of Arts from Concordia University.
Prior to this reappointment, Ms. Lévesque worked as an independent lawyer associated with the offices of Goyette, Arpin & Associates; Paquin, Vadeboncoeur & Associates; General Trust of Canada; Buisson Mercier Leduc, and the legal office of Gagnon Lacoste. She received her diploma in Commerce from the Champlain CEGEP and her Bachelor of Civil Law and Bachelor of Common Law from McGill University.
Prior to this reappointment, Mr. Tshisungu Wa Tshisungu worked as a human rights trainer for the Canadian Human Rights Foundation in Montréal and as a local officer for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He studied International Relations and the Philosophy of Law at the Free University of Brussels, and received his doctorate in Linguistics from the Université de Montréal.
Prior to this reappointment, Ms. Armstrong worked as a sessional drama instructor at the University of Alberta and as a teacher for Edmonton Public Schools, including, in her last eleven years, as Department Head of English at Ross Sheppard High School. She received her Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Alberta and did post-graduate studies at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
Created in 1989, the IRB is an independent administrative tribunal that reports to Parliament through the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. The Board has three divisions: the Refugee Protection Division, the Immigration Appeal Division and the Immigration Division. The IRB determines refugee protection claims made in Canada, hears immigration appeals, and conducts admissibility hearings and detention reviews.
For further information (media only), please contact:
Tim Vail
Press Secretary
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-954-1064
