CRS Seminar: The Whole System Has Become More Punitive”: Refugee Protection in Canada

Guest speaker:
Idil Atak, Associate Professor, Department of Criminology, Ryerson University
Over the past decade, Canada’s refugee protection system has been the subject of important changes. The previous Conservative Government (2002-2015) made regulatory changes and adopted legislations amending theImmigration and Refugee Protection Act(IRPA) (S.C. 2001, c. 27). TheBalanced Refugee Reform Act(Bill C-11, 2010) and theProtecting Canada’s Immigration System Act(Bill C-31, 2012) have introduced a number of measures in Canada’s refugee status determination system which include: the “designated country of origin” criteria, “designated irregular arrivals”, new procedural framework, such as expedited refugee claim hearings and restrictions to legal recourses. Based on the results of a research project that involved interviews with over 60 participants in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, this presentation explores some of the practical and human rights implications associated with these measures. It is argued that the new measures have resulted in violations of asylum seekers’ human rights. They have had a detrimental impact on third parties involved in the refugee protection system, such as legal counsels and service providers. In addition, these measures are likely to increase irregular migration in Canada. The presentation highlights the urgent need for policy changes.
Idil Atak is an Associate Professor and the Graduate Program Director in the Department of Criminology of Ryerson University. She is Editor-in-Chief of International Journal for Migration and Border Studies anda member of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration’s (IASFM) Executive Committee.