Consultation notice
Proposed regulatory amendments to modernize the existing framework governing the collection and recovery of removal costs from foreign nationals removed from Canada at Her Majesty's expense in accordance with section 243 of the the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations
Current status: Closed
Open on and will close to new input on .
Description
As part of Budget 2019, the Government of Canada committed to enhancing the integrity of Canada's Borders and Asylum System while implementing a comprehensive Border Enforcement Strategy. Within these investments, funding was provided to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to develop regulatory policy options to modernize the recovery of removal cost framework as outlined by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). A related notice of these potential regulatory amendments has been published on the CBSA's Forward Regulatory Plan website.
The CBSA is responsible for enforcing the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), which governs the admissibility of foreign nationals and permanent residents to Canada. The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness is responsible for the establishment of policies related to enforcing IRPA, including removal.
The CBSA is considering potential regulatory amendments to increase the costs to be recovered from returning foreign nationals removed at the government's expense. The current regulatory framework described in section 243 of the IRPR has not been updated in over 25 years; it does not align with today's costs nor leverage technology to ensure that outstanding removal costs owed by foreign nationals are recovered prior to receiving authorization to return to Canada.
Paragraph 53(g) of the IRPA provides the authority to create regulations in respect to the “financial obligations that may be imposed with respect to a removal order,” while paragraph 145(1)(c) of the IRPA establishes that “costs incurred in removing a prescribed foreign national from Canada” are considered debts to the Crown that may be recovered at any time.
Currently, the removal costs that must be repaid are:
- $750 for foreign nationals removed to the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon; and
- $1,500 for foreign nationals removed to any other country.
The CBSA is considering a new cost recovery structure that is based on actual average enforcement expenditures incurred by the CBSA. Amounts recovered would be:
- $3,250 from foreign nationals who were removed without escort;
- $10,900 from foreign nationals who were removed under escort; and
- $1,300 from foreign nationals who were detained for removal. This amounts to a total of $4,550 for detained unescorted removals or $12,200 for escorted detained removals.
In accordance with subsection 17(1) of the Service Fees Act, the CBSA is considering applying a regulatory mechanism such that the costs to be recovered would be subject to an automatic annual fee adjustment. This would be based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) that would reflect the percentage change over 12 months in the April All-items CPI for Canada, as published by Statistics Canada under the Statistics Act, for the previous fiscal year. The annual application of the CPI to the removal costs would maintain alignment between the regulatory cost recovery scheme and the CBSA's actual enforcement expenditures.
The revised removal costs would apply to foreign nationals removed on or after the date when the new regulations come into force. As of that date, foreign nationals would be required to repay removal costs in the amount that was established during the year in which they were removed from Canada. Foreign nationals removed prior to coming into force of the new regulations would be required to repay removal costs as they existed immediately prior to these potential regulatory amendments.
These potential regulatory changes will help protect the integrity of Canada's immigration enforcement program by ensuring that the CBSA's removal program remains cost-effective. They would also help offset the government's immigration- and asylum-related enforcement costs, thereby providing value from the perspective of Canadian taxpayers.
To help inform this process, the CBSA is embarking on a public consultation process to give all interested stakeholders an opportunity to provide input.
Contact us
Please submit your questions or comments by email:
Heather Roberts
Integrity and Innovation Policy Unit
Immigration Enforcement, Customs, and External Review Policy Directorate
Canada Border Services Agency
100 Metcalfe St
Ottawa ON K1A 0L8
iepu-upeli@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
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