Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade: Bill S-8, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, to make consequential amendments to other Acts and to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (June 9, 2022)

Copy of the bill

Bill S-8, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, to make consequential amendments to other Acts and to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

Overview deck

Background

In April 2017, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (FAAE) released a report recommending that amendments be made to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), to render all individuals subject to sanction measures under the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA) inadmissible to Canada.

In October 2017, the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (JVCFOA) came into force, creating two new inadmissibility grounds in the IRPA related to sanctions:

• sanctions imposed for gross and systematic human rights violations, or corrupt public officials
• any foreign national sanctioned under the JVCFOA

JVCFOA did not fully address the FAAE recommendation, as individuals sanctioned for only certain circumstances are inadmissible.

Context: Drivers

Government of Canada committed to examine the FAAE report recommendations, in concert with the final form of the JVCFOA.

Related funding for policy development was provided in Budget 2018; this work is complete, however, the following gaps still need to be closed through legislative amendments:

• Amend the IRPA to address the FAAE recommendation to designate all individuals listed under SEMA as inadmissible
• Ensure that the multilateral sanction provision includes non-state actors or groups

Ukraine crisis

Current crisis in Ukraine has created additional incentives to align sanctions and inadmissibility frameworks.

Unilateral sanctions issued by Canada and its allies against Russian individuals and entities currently in force do not lead to inadmissibility.

Current SEMA sanctions issued on the basis of "grave breach of international peace"

Immigration enforcement could be undertaken under the current framework if SEMA sanctions were issued on the basis of gross and systematic violations of human rights.

Legislative amendments

• Create a standalone sanctions inadmissibility provision
  • Current provision falls under human or international rights violations, despite key differences
  • Sanctions provisions are temporary and only applicable to foreign nationals, whereas human or international rights violations is an indefinite inadmissibility, that can be applicable to permanent residents as well
• Expand the current SEMA inadmissibility provision

  New provision will include foreign nationals sanctioned under SEMA for any reason (as opposed to only certain circumstances)

• Expand the current multilateral inadmissibility provision

  Current provision only includes sanctions made against a country, new provision will include non-state groups (in other words, Al Qaeda or DAESH)

Annex: Volumetrics

Expanding the sanctions inadmissibility framework to include all persons sanctioned under SEMA would add 1,573 persons to the current volume of 915 persons inadmissible for sanctions.

An expanded sanctions-related inadmissibility framework will improve support to Canada's sanctions regime by preventing sanctioned people from obtaining the necessary documents to travel to Canada, and by allowing for swift enforcement action should the person manage to travel to Canada.

Clause-by-clause analysis

Clause 1

This clause amends paragraph (c) of subsection 4(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to specify that policy authority for inadmissibility on grounds of sanctions falls under the responsibility of the Minister of Public safety and Emergency Preparedness.

Clause 2

This clause amends subsection 21(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to include inadmissibility due to sanctions among the existing grounds of inadmissibility that would prevent a person whose application for protection had been determined by the Immigration and Refugee Board, or whose application for protection had been allowed by the Minister, from becoming a permanent resident.

Clause 3

This clause amends subsection 25(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to include inadmissibility due to sanctions among the existing grounds of inadmissibility which would disqualify a foreign national from making a request to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship for permanent resident status or an exemption from any applicable criteria or obligation of the Act on the basis of humanitarian and compassionate considerations.

Clause 4

This clause amends subsection 25.1(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to include inadmissibility due to sanctions among the existing grounds of inadmissibility for which the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship may not grant permanent resident status or an exemption from any applicable criteria or obligation of this Act on the basis of humanitarian and compassionate considerations.

Clause 5

This clause repeals the existing sanctions-related inadmissibility provisions under subsection 35(1), paragraphs (c) to (e), of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, as well as the clarifying provision of subsection 35(2) which provides a temporal limitation to inadmissibility arising from the paragraphs of subsection 35(1) repealed under this clause. For clarity, these sanctions-related inadmissibility provisions are moved and included in a new section pursuant to clause 6.

Clause 6

This clause creates a new section consolidating all sanctions-related inadmissibility provisions, includes sanctions imposed on an entity or person into paragraph (a) of subsection 35.1(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; incorporates sanctions issued due to any of the circumstances described under section 4 of the Special Economic Measures Act into paragraph (b) of subsection 35.1(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; and incorporates sanctions issued under section 4 of the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act.

This clause also includes a clarification provision ensuring that a foreign national inadmissible due to sanctions ceases to be inadmissible once no longer subject to sanctions.

Clause 7

This clause amends paragraph (a) and (b) of subsection 42(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to include a foreign national's inadmissibility due to sanctions among the reasons for which that foreign national's accompanying family member would be inadmissible, and to provide that a foreign national would be inadmissible because of the inadmissibility due to sanctions of their accompanying and in some cases non-accompanying family member.

Clause 8

This clause amends subsections (1) and (2) of section 42.1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to remove inadmissibility due to multilateral sanctions from the grounds of inadmissibility from which the Minister may make a declaration that the matters do not constitute inadmissibility.

Clause 9

This clause amends paragraph (b) of subsection 55(3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to include inadmissibility due to sanctions among the grounds of inadmissibility for which an officer may detain a foreign national on entry to Canada on the basis of reasonable grounds to suspect.

Clause 10

This clause amends paragraph (c) of subsection 58(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to include inadmissibility due to sanctions among the grounds of inadmissibility which would lead to continued detention of a foreign national provided the Minister was making necessary steps to inquire into a reasonable suspicion that the foreign national is inadmissible.

Clause 11

This clause amends subsection (1) of section 64 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to include inadmissibility due to sanctions among the grounds of inadmissibility for which no appeal may be made to the Immigration Appeal Division by a foreign national.

Clause 12

This clause amends paragraph (f) of subsection 101(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to remove reference to multilateral sanctions, as referred to in the repealed paragraph 35(1)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, as an exception to ineligibility of a refugee claim to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division. For further clarity, the refugee claim by a claimant who has been determined to be inadmissible on grounds of sanctions pursuant to a new section 35.1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, as established by clause 6, will be eligible to be referred to the Refuge Protection Division.

Clause 13

This clause provides transitional provisions which ensure that foreign nationals who are the subject of sanctions prior to royal assent of the bill will be inadmissible to Canada under the amended sanctions provision of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and ensures that foreign nationals who were subject to sanctions prior to royal assent of the bill but who were otherwise admissible will now be considered inadmissible under the amended sanctions provision of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, as long as a decision, resolution or measure referred to in paragraph 35.1(1)(a) is in effect on that day.

Clause 14

This clause amends subsection (4) of section 10.1 of the Citizenship Act to include inadmissibility due to sanctions among the grounds of inadmissibility for which the Minister need only prove that the person has obtained, retained, renounced or resumed citizenship by false representation, fraud, or by knowingly concealing material circumstances. As with the other grounds of inadmissibility referenced, it is not necessary for the Minister to prove that the person was inadmissible for such a declaration to be sought.

Clause 15

This clause amends clause (A) of subparagraph 30(1)(h)(iii) of the Emergencies Act to include inadmissibility due to sanctions among the grounds of inadmissibility which allow for an exception to a prohibition on subjecting protected persons to an order of removal from Canada issued by the Governor in Council on the basis of an emergency.

Clause 16

This clause amends subsection (1) of section 24.1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to remove reference to multilateral sanctions from the grounds of inadmissibility for which a foreign national must have a finding of inadmissibility before making an application for a declaration of relief.

Clause 17

This clause amends paragraph (g) of subsection 24.2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to remove reference to multilateral sanctions from the grounds of inadmissibility for which a foreign national must provide information as part of an application for a declaration of relief.

Clause 18

This clause amends subparagraph (ii) of subsection 65(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to include inadmissibility due to sanctions among the grounds of inadmissibility which would disqualify a temporary resident permit holder from becoming a member of the permit holder class.

Clause 19

This clause amends paragraph (f) of subsection 228(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to provide that the Minister's delegate has jurisdiction to issue a removal order following a determination of inadmissibility on the basis of sanctions.

Clause 20

This clause amends paragraph (b) of subsection 229(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to remove multilateral sanctions from the grounds of inadmissibility for which the Immigration Division may issue a removal order.

Clause 21

This clause amends paragraph (b) of subsection 230(3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to include inadmissibility due to sanctions among the grounds of inadmissibility providing an exception to a stay of removal imposed by the Minister.

Clause 22

This clause provides transitional provisions which ensure that the Immigration Division continues to have jurisdiction to issue a removal order in cases where a report alleging inadmissibility on the basis of multilateral sanctions was referred to the Immigration Division prior to royal assent of the bill and in respect of which no decision has been made by the Immigration Division before that date.