Internal Appellate Review: the Role of the New Refugee Appeal Division

I made a presentation last week to the members of the new Refugee Appeal Division and their legal advisers. The RAD hears appeals from the Refugee Protection Division: most of the relevant statutory provisions are contained in Part IV of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

One of the questions the members of the RAD have been asking themselves in their decisions to date is whether they should be deferential to findings made by the RPD. My presentation focused on this. My answer was a heavily qualified yes: the RAD should show some deference to the RPD, but it should not apply rigidly tests developed for review by courts of administrative decisions.

Immigration Officer's Academic Writing Did Not Cause a Reasonable Apprehension of Bias

The applicant in Francis v. Canada (Immigration and Citizenship), 2012 FC 1141 was concerned that she had not got a fair shake before the Refugee Protection Division, on the basis of comments made by the decision-maker in previous academic writings. He had suggested that the refugee protection system gave rise to anomalies, and cited the applicant's place of origin, Saint Vincent, as an example. He had also argued that Canada's immigration policy could lead to a break down in social cohesion.