The ''Immigration and Refugee Protection Act'' (''IRPA'') is an Act of the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, ...

, administered by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), that replaced the '' Immigration Act, 1976'' in 2002 as the primary federal legislation regulating

immigration to Canada According to the 2021 Canadian census, immigrants in Canada number 8.3 million persons and make up approximately 23 percent of Canada's total population. This represents the eighth-largest immigrant population in the world, while the proport ...

. The "Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations" (IRPR) specify how provisions of ''IRPA'' are to be applied. Coming into force on 28 June 2002, the Act would create a high-level framework detailing the goals and guidelines the Canadian government has set with regard to immigration to Canada by foreign residents. The ''Act'' would also sprout controversy regarding the government's failure to implement a component of the legislation that would have establish a Refugee Appeal Division as part of Canada's immigration system. The

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness The minister of public safety (french: ministre de la sécurité publique) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet responsible for overseeing Public Safety Canada, the internal security department of the Government of Canada. The p ...

, who oversees agencies such as the CBSA, is responsible for administrating the ''Act'' as it relates to examinations at ports of entry (POEs); enforcement, including arrests, detentions, removals, and policy establishment; and inadmissibility on the grounds of security, organized criminality, or violation of international rights (incl. human rights). The

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship The minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship (french: Ministre de l'immigration, des réfugiés et de la citoyenneté) is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The minister is responsible for Immigration, Refugees and Citi ...

, who oversees the IRCC, is responsible for governing the ''Act'' overall. The

Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

(IRB) is an independent administrative tribunal that is responsible for making well-reasoned decisions of immigration and refugee matters, efficiently, fairly, and in accordance with the law.

Constitutionality

In the 2007 case of '' Charkaoui v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)'',
Charkaoui v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)
'' 2007 SCC 9,

007 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

1 SCR 350. Retrieved vi
CanLII
on 2020-04-10. Chief Justice

Beverley McLachlin Beverley Marian McLachlin (born September 7, 1943) is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th chief justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the p ...

held that certain aspects of the scheme contained within the ''Act'' for the detention of

permanent residents Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such ...

and foreign nationals on the grounds of national security violate s. 7 of the ''

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part ...

'' by "allowing the issuance of a certificate of inadmissibility based on secret material without providing for an independent agent at the stage of

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...

to better protect the named person’s interests."''Charkaoui v. Canada''
para. 3 (CanLii)
McLachlin concluded that "some of the time limits in the provisions for continuing detention of a foreign national violate ss. 9 and 10(c) f the Charterbecause they are arbitrary." The

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-i ...

responded by introducing a revised

security certificate In Canada, a security certificate is a legal mechanism by which the Canadian government can detain and deport permanent residents and all other non-citizens (i.e., foreign nationals) living in Canada. It is authorized within the parameters of t ...

regime in the ''Act'' that includes the use of special advocates to review a summary of the evidence without being able to share this information with the accused. The bill to amend the ''Act'' was passed by Parliament with support from the Conservative and Liberal caucuses and received royal assent in 2008.

Regulations

Regulations made under IRPA

The regulations that were made under this Act include: * Adjudication Division Rules (

SOR Sor may refer to: * Fernando Sor (1778–1839), Spanish guitarist and composer * Sor, Ariège, a French commune * SOR Libchavy, a Czech bus manufacturer * Sor, Azerbaijan, a village * Sor, Senegal, an offshore island * Sor River, a river in th ...

/93-47) * Federal Courts Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection Rules (SOR/93-22) * Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227) * Immigration Appeal Division Rules (SOR/2002-230) * Immigration Division Rules (SOR/2002-229) * Ministerial Responsibilities Under the IRPA Order ( SI/2015-52) * Oath or Solemn Affirmation of Office Rules (

Immigration and Refugee Board Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

) (SOR/2012-255) * Order Designating the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration as the Minister responsible for the administration of that Act (SI/2001-120) * Preclearance in Canada Regulations (SOR/2019-183) * Protection of Passenger Information Regulations (SOR/2005-346) * Refugee Appeal Division Rules (SOR/2012-257) * Refugee Protection Division Rules (SOR/2012-256) * Regulations Designating a Body for the Purposes of paragraph 91(2)(c) of IRPA (SOR/2011-142)

Repealed regulations made under IRPA

The regulations that were repealed under this Act include: *

Convention Refugee Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law * Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in a ...

Determination Division Rules (

/93-45) * Oath or Solemn Affirmation of Office Rules ( IRB) (SOR/2002-231) * Refugee Protection Division Rules (SOR/2002-228) * Order Setting Out the Respective Responsibilities of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Under the Act ( SI/2005-120)

Constitutionality

Regulations

Regulations made under IRPA

Repealed regulations made under IRPA

See also

References

Further reading