Bill C-31

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

First Reading

PDF

Review of decision for detention	77. (1) Not later than 48 hours after the arrest of a permanent resident under section 76, a judge shall commence a review of the reasons for the continued detention. The rules set out in section 72 apply, with any modifications that the circumstances require, with respect to the review.
Further reviews	(2) A permanent resident must be brought back before a judge at least once in the six-month period following each preceding review and at other times that the judge may authorize.
Order for release	(3) A judge shall order the detention to be continued if satisfied that the permanent resident continues to be a danger to national security or to the safety of persons, or is unlikely to appear at a proceeding or for removal.
Application for release	78. (1) A foreign national may apply to the Minister for release from detention to permit the foreign national's departure from Canada, or may apply to the judge to be released if the foreign national has not been removed from Canada within 120 days after the Federal Court determined a certificate to be reasonable.
Judicial release	(2) The judge may order the release from detention of the foreign national under terms and conditions that the judge considers appropriate, if satisfied that the foreign national will not be removed from Canada within a reasonable time and that the release will not pose a danger to national security or to the safety of persons.
Inconsistency	79. In the case of an inconsistency between sections 76 to 78 and the provisions of Division 6, those sections prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
	Consideration During an Admissibility Hearing or an Immigration Appeal
Protecting information	80. (1) The Minister may, during an admissibility hearing, a detention review or an appeal before the Immigration Appeal Division, make an application for non-disclosure of information.
Rules	(2) The rules set out in section 72 apply, with any modifications that the circumstances require, with respect to the determination of the application, and a reference to ``judge'' shall be read as a reference to the applicable Division of the Board.
	Consideration During Judicial Review
Non-disclosur e of information	81. (1) With respect to any application for judicial review of a decision with respect to a foreign national's detention or inadmissibility on grounds of security, violating human rights, criminality, serious criminality or organized criminality, the Minister may make an application to the judge for the non-disclosure of information.
Rules	(2) The rules set out in section 72, apply to the determination of the application, with the modifications that the circumstances require, except the rules relating to the obligation to provide a summary and the time limit referred to in paragraph (d).
	DIVISION 10
	GENERAL PROVISIONS
	Loans
Loans	82. (1) The Minister of Finance may, from time to time, advance to the Minister out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, up to the maximum amount that is prescribed, sums that the Minister may require in order to make loans for the purpose of this Act.
Regulations	(2) Regulations may be made to provide for any matter relating to the application of this section, and may include provisions respecting
	(a) classes of persons to whom the loans may be made; and
	(b) the purposes for which the loans may be made.
	Social Insurance Number Cards
Minister directs special cards to be issued	83. The Minister may direct the Canada Employment Insurance Commission continued by the Department of Human Resources Development Act to issue to persons, other than Canadian citizens or permanent residents, Social Insurance Number Cards whereby the holders of such cards are identified as persons who may be required by or under this Act to obtain authorization to engage or continue in employment in Canada.
	Material Incorporated in Regulations
Incorporated material	84. (1) A regulation may incorporate by reference material that is produced
	(a) by a person or body other than a person or body authorized under this Act to produce the material;
	(b) by the other person or body and that has been adapted in form in order to facilitate its incorporation or that sets out only the parts of the material that apply for the purposes of the regulation;
	(c) by a person or body authorized under this Act jointly with another government or government agency for the purpose of harmonizing the regulation with other laws; or
	(d) by a person or body authorized under this Act and that is technical or explanatory in nature, such as specifications, classifications, illustrations or graphs, as well as examples that may assist in the application of the regulation.
Amended from time to time	(2) Material may be incorporated by reference on a specified date or as amended from time to time.
Incorporated material is not a regulation	(3) Material does not become a regulation for the purposes of this Act because it is incorporated by reference in a regulation.
Statutory Instruments Act	85. Any instructions that the Minister may give are not regulations within the meaning of the Statutory Instruments Act.
	Report to Parliament
Annual report to Parliament	86. (1) The Minister must, on or before November 1, or within the next 30 days on which either House of Parliament is sitting after that date, table in each House of Parliament a report on the operation of this Act in the preceding calendar year.
Contents of report	(2) The report shall include a description of
	(a) the activities and initiatives taken concerning the selection of foreign nationals and the results of entering into federal-provincial agreements, including measures taken in cooperation with the provinces;
	(b) the number of foreign nationals who were granted permanent resident status by the Government of Canada and the number that is projected to be granted that status in the following year;
	(c) for each province that has entered into a federal-provincial agreement described in subsection 9(1), the numbers, for each class listed in the agreement, that became permanent residents and that the province projects will settle there as permanent residents in the following year;
	(d) the number of permits issued under section 21, categorized according to grounds of inadmissibility, if any;
	(e) the number of persons authorized under section 22 on humanitarian and compassionate grounds to enter and remain in Canada as permanent residents; and
	(f) the number and total amount of any loans or guarantees made by the Minister.
Report of Chairperson	87. The Minister shall cause a copy of the report of the Chairperson of the Board, referred to in section 159, to be tabled before each House of Parliament within the first 15 days that the House is sitting after the Minister receives the report.
	PART 2
	REFUGEE PROTECTION
	DIVISION 1
	REFUGEE PROTECTION, CONVENTION REFUGEES AND PERSONS IN NEED OF PROTECTION
Conferral of refugee protection	88. Refugee protection is the protection that is conferred on a foreign national who has been determined under this Act to be a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection or a foreign national who is a member of the humanitarian class.
Definition - ``Convention refugee''	89. A person is a Convention refugee who, by reason of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion,
	(a) is outside each of their countries of nationality and is unable or, by reason of that fear, unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of each of those countries; or
	(b) not having a country of nationality, is outside the country of the person's former habitual residence and is unable or, by reason of that fear, unwilling to return to that country.
Person in need of protection	90. (1) A person in need of protection is a foreign national in Canada who is described in subsection (2) or is a member of a class of persons that is prescribed, in accordance with the regulations, to be in need of protection.
Person in need of protection	(2) A person in need of protection is a foreign national in Canada whose removal to their country or countries of nationality or, if they do not have a country of nationality, their country of former habitual residence, would subject them personally
	(a) to a danger, believed on substantial grounds to exist, of torture within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention Against Torture; or
	(b) to a risk to their life or to a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if
	(i) the foreign national is unable or, because of that risk, unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country,
	(ii) the risk would be faced by the foreign national in every part of that country and is not faced generally by other individuals in or from that country,
	(iii) the risk is not inherent or incidental to lawful sanctions, unless imposed in disregard of accepted international standards, and
	(iv) the risk is not caused by the inability of that country to provide adequate health or medical care.
Exclusion - Refugee Convention	91. A person referred to in section E or F of Article 1 of the Refugee Convention is not a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection.
Claim	92. (1) A claim for refugee protection may be made outside Canada or in Canada.
Claim made outside Canada	(2) A application to enter and remain in Canada as a permanent resident that is made by a foreign national outside Canada as a member of the Convention refugees overseas class or the humanitarian class referred to in subsection 12(3) is a claim for refugee protection and is governed by the provisions of Part 1.
Claim made in Canada	(3) A foreign national who is in Canada and who has claimed refugee protection as a Convention refugee or as a person in need of protection may, if refugee protection is conferred, make an application to remain in Canada as a permanent resident, and is subject to the provisions of Part 1.
	DIVISION 2
	CONVENTION REFUGEES AND PERSONS IN NEED OF PROTECTION
	Claim for Refugee Protection
Right to claim refugee protection	93. (1) A foreign national in Canada who is not subject to a removal order may make a claim to a designated officer for refugee protection.
Part 1 applies	(2) Unless otherwise provided, a foreign national who makes a claim for refugee protection remains subject to Part 1 and the regulations made under that Part.
	Examination of Eligibility to Refer Claim
Referral to Refugee Protection Division	94. (1) A designated officer shall determine, within the prescribed period, whether a claim for refugee protection is eligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division and, if eligible, shall refer the claim in accordance with the rules of the Board.
Decision	(2) The designated officer shall suspend consideration of the eligibility of the foreign national's claim if
	(a) a report has been referred to the Immigration Division for a determination of whether the foreign national is inadmissible on grounds of security, violating human rights, serious criminality or organized criminality; or
	(b) the officer considers it necessary to wait for a decision of a court with respect to a claimant who is charged with an offence under an Act of Parliament that may be punished by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 10 years.
Jurisdiction	(3) The Refugee Protection Division has jurisdiction to consider a claim when it is referred by the designated officer. If the designated officer does not refer the claim, it is deemed to be referred at the end of the prescribed period, unless there is a suspension or the designated officer has determined the claim to be ineligible.
Duty of claimant	(4) The burden of proving that a claim is eligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division rests on the claimant, who must answer truthfully all questions put to them. If the claim is referred, the claimant must produce all documents and information as required by the rules of the Board.
Ineligibility	95. (1) A claim is not eligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division if
	(a) refugee protection has already been conferred on, or refused to, the claimant under this Act;
	(b) a prior claim by the claimant was determined to be ineligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division, or to have been withdrawn or abandoned;
	(c) the claimant has been recognized as a Convention refugee by a country other than Canada and can be returned to that country;
	(d) the claimant has been determined to be inadmissible on grounds of security, violating human rights, serious criminality or organized criminality; or
	(e) the claimant came directly or indirectly to Canada from a prescribed country, other than a country of their nationality or their former habitual residence.
Regulations	(2) Regulations may be made for matters relating to the application of sections 94 and this section and, for the purpose of sharing responsibility with governments of foreign states for the consideration of refugee claims, may include provisions
	(a) designating countries that comply with Article 33 of the Refugee Convention and Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture;
	(b) making a list of those countries and amending it as necessary; and
	(c) respecting the circumstances and criteria for the application of paragraph (1)(e).
Factors	(3) The following factors are to be considered in designating a country under subsection (2):
	(a) whether the country is a party to the Refugee Convention and to the Convention Against Torture;
	(b) its policies and practices with respect to Convention refugee claims and with respect to obligations under the Convention Against Torture;
	(c) its human rights record; and
	(d) whether it is party to an agreement with the Government of Canada for the purpose of sharing responsibility with respect to claims for refugee protection.
Review	(4) The Governor in Council must ensure the continuing review of factors set out in subsection (3) with respect to each designated country.
	Suspension or Termination of Consideration of Claim
Hearing suspended	96. (1) The Refugee Protection Division shall suspend its consideration of a claim for refugee protection on notification by a designated officer that