In the Media

OTTAWA—The Conservative government proposed amendments to a controversial newrefugee bill on Wednesday, but critics say they still have major concerns with the legislation. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney admitted he was prompted to introduce some changes toBill C-31 by months of outrage from refugee advocacy groups and Opposition critics. “I believe it’s not right for the government to […]

CBC News Immigration minister bends to pressure, dials back detention provisions in omnibus bill By Louise Elliott, CBC News Posted: May 9, 2012 11:46 AM ET Last Updated: May 9, 2012 6:06 PM ET Read 94 comments94 Facebook 111 Twitter 7 Share 118 Email Related Related Stories NDP says government considering splitting budget bill Who […]

Canada refugee board employees who failed an earlier exam to become refugee judges in a revamped asylum system are being given a third chance at the job, the Star has learned. According to an internal memo obtained by the Star, the Immigration and Refugee Board has just launched a third competition to fill the 105 […]

When Maria Prieto and her boyfriend James Agnew decided to buy a condo and move in together three years ago, Agnew suggested the pair get a cohabitation agreement.

Prieto admitted she didn’t know what that meant, but once it was explained to her she agreed to it right away…

Ottawa should rethink its plan to ban certain refugees from appeals in light of a new report that suggests asylum outcomes very much depend on which refugee judge presides on the case, says the study’s author. York University law professor Sean Rehaag examined all 34,204 decisions made in 2011 by the 148 refugee judges appointed […]

OTTAWA—The federal government is overhauling Canada’s overloaded and “broken” refugee system to put questionable refugee claimants on a fast-track back to their homelands. Read full article in the Toronto Star

New, tougher reforms to refugee legislation that hasn’t yet come into force are already drawing fire from critics who say they give Canada’s immigration minister too much power and risk the lives of claimants.

Bill C-31, introduced Thursday by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, toughens the measures taken in the Balanced Refugee Reform Act, a compromise bill passed under a Conservative minority government. That earlier bill has yet to be implemented. It was due to be up and running by June 29.

The task of separating the devout from the fraudsters among those claiming refugee status in Canada for religious persecution cannot be divined by peppering someone with “trivia” questions, the Federal Court has ruled.

The judicial chastising of the way an Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator tried to ferret out bogus refugees stems from the case of a man who fled China saying he fears persecution for being a Roman Catholic. He was refused because of his answers to questions about Catholic tradition.”

Some critics call it a lottery, others call it Russian roulette.

A CBC News analysis shows dozens of members of the Immigration and Refugee Board are overwhelmingly refusing claims for asylum in Canada, while others are overwhelmingly approving them.

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