Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm Blog

Unwarranted deference for Canadian Refugee Adjudication

I've finally completed my Major Research Paper (MRP) for my LLM. It's the final requirement for the degree. It was a great relief sending the draft to my supervisor this morning. The MRP is entitled "Unwarranted Deference to Canadian Refugee Adjudication" and discusses the issues facing the RPD. To some degree, the RPD is hampered by legitimacy in decision making - RPD Members are often appointed based on patronage. The deference/respect shown to decisions of the RPD by the Federal Court is to some extent unjustified given the absence of the Refugee Appeal Division and the difficulties facing refugee adjudicators, including claims based on sexual orientation. While policy considerations exist in favour of wide judicial deference, justice must be obtained at the first instance and not in an after the fact judicial review exercise. Justice should not be denied because too many ask for it, or that its too expensive. Read more →

Immigration hearings

It'll be a busy December. Scheduled hearings include refugee claims against Burma, Colombia, Iraq, Romania, Somalia and Haiti. Each claim type has challenges. Somalian claims for example typically lack identity documents. Haitian claims are typically complicated by long sojourns in the United States which results in a significant passage of time which tends to minimize the perceived risk to the claimant. Burmese claims tend to be strong ones. The military junta brooks little dissent and the claim could succeed as a sur place one. I'm also looking forward to the Iraqi claim which raises a well founded fear of persecution or risk to life based on religious persecution. Read more →

Interesting article at the National Post ... an Ontario court case seems to indicate that sponsor's who's relatives default (receive social assistance/benefits) may not automatically be required to pay back the funds to the government. This despite the very clear Sponsorship Agreement which forms part of any family class sponsorship application requiring sponsors to be responsible for their relatives. It seems that about 5,000 sponsored immigrants apply for social assistance (in Ontario at least). Some critics have commented on the administrative hurdles in setting up 'case by case' assessments of which sponsors should be required to pay and which should not. I'm all for due process, but there are some circumstances and situations that call for sympathy. For example, if someone sponsors a husband or wife, and is the victim of marriage fraud, they should not be responsible financially when/if that individual accesses social assistance. Read more →