What is Bill C-31?
Bill C-31, also known as the “Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act”, brought sweeping changes to the Canadian refugee system when it was enacted in December 2012. Bill C-31 focused on shortening the time for which refugee claimants have to submit and acquire evidence for their claim. C-31 also introduced the increased use of long-term detention, differential treatment and processing of refugee claimants based country of origin, along with increased ministerial powers to detain any foreign national groups deemed as “irregular arrivals”.
What is the impact of the new reforms for refugees?
The new reforms targets in-land claimants in particular, where refugees are treated as criminals with automatic and mandatory detention as they arrive in Canada. In addition, they are immediately are set in a race against the clock to submit all pertinent documentations to support their claims. Under the new law, within 15 days of arrival refugee claimants are required to submit a Basis of Claim form, supplying detailed reasons of their need of protection. Moreover, within 60 days they are then required to provide evidence in support of their claim. Prior to the enactment of Bill C-31, refugee claimants had up to 28 days to submit their Basis of Claim form and no deadlines for procuring evidential support.
“Many claimants come to Canada fleeing the worst imaginable circumstances — war, torture and gender-based violence. Now imagine the difficulty of trying to send home for police reports, newspaper articles and other corroborating evidence within two short months of one’s arrival, never mind the difficulty of seeing a Canadian doctor in time to get medical or psychiatric reports to prove trauma. Then add a claimant’s inability to understand French or English, to access a lawyer or translator, as well as the possibility of being held in Canadian detention, and the chance of making one’s best case grows slim.”
Sources:
https://ccrweb.ca/files/
https://ccrweb.ca/files/
http://www.thestar.com/
