The New Immigration and Refugee Protection
Act
April 6, 2000
The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration today introduced a sweeping new
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, designed to curb criminal abuse of the
immigration and refugee systems while expanding policies to attract the world’s
best and brightest to Canada.
It responds to the desire expressed by Canadians for an immigration and
refugee system based on respect— for our laws, for our historic openness to
newcomers and our tradition of offering safe haven to those in genuine need of
protection.
As the Minister said: "Closing the back door to those who would abuse
the system allows us to ensure that the front door will remain open, both to
genuine refugees, and to the immigrants our country will need to grow and
prosper in the years ahead."
Highlights of The New Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
It introduces severe penalties-- fines of up to $1 million and life in
prison-- for people smugglers and those caught trafficking in humans.
It introduces new measures to strengthen the integrity of the refugee
determination system. These include:
- front-end security screening of all claimants;
enhanced grounds for detention;
- fewer appeals to delay the removal of serious criminals; and,
- suspension of claims for those charged with crimes until the courts have
rendered a decision.
It will also make the refugee determination process faster and fairer by:
- Merging current steps and protection criteria into a single decision at
the Immigration and Refugee Board; and,
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By combining increased use of single-member panels with an internal paper
appeal at the Board.
The new Act will deny immigration sponsorship to those convicted of spousal
abuse, those in default of spousal or child support payments and those on social
assistance.
It also creates new inadmissibility classes for cases involving fraud or
misrepresentation on immigration applications. And it requires physical
residence in Canada for at least 2 of every 5 years to maintain permanent
residence.
The Minister also promised accompanying regulations over the coming months to
keep the ‘front door’ open to genuine refugees and to the increased number
of immigrants Canada will need to continue to grow and prosper in the 21st
century .
- A strengthened overseas refugee resettlement program;
- An expanded family class;
- New selection criteria to attract more highly-skilled and adaptable
independent immigrants; and,
- The creation of an ‘in-Canada’ landing class for temporary workers,
foreign students and spouses already established in Canada and wishing to
stay.
The expanded family class will increase the age at which a dependent child
can be sponsored from under 19 to under 22 and allow spouses and children to
apply for permanent residence from within Canada.
Following upon the recent Budget announcement of new funding for strengthened
overseas interdiction, more immigration officers at our ports of entry, better
medical and security screening of applicants, improved capacity for the timely
removals, backlog clearance across the system, and elimination of the
right-of-landing fee for refugees, this new Act confirms immigration as a key
priority for the Government.
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