International Law

Real Refugee Reform

By Raj Sharma

Ministers Toews and Kenney have been busy this year trying to show Canadians (and prospective refugees outside Canada) that they mean business. 

Instead of announcing and enacting new legislation that would apply to only a tiny minority of refugee claimants, the duo should perhaps look at the existing legislation that actually allows the government to take back refugee status given to an individual if the conditions back home have changed and the reasons for the claim/risk no longer exist (cessation).

The use of that provision, combined with expeditious determination of claims and (more importantly) expeditious removal of individuals once they have been determined not to be at risk should be more than enough to send a clear message to economic migrants/bogus refugee claimants.

Maybe they aren't actually interested in solutions; politics is theatre to a large extent and the government needs to show the public that they are taking action on a seemingly intractable problem. The reality is far more prosaic. The government already has the tools necessary to address the essential problems, but insist on public display and ostentatious new legislation.

Full post as published by Canadian Immigration Blawg on October 31, 2010 (boomark / email).