View source for Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

{{Short description|2002 Canadian legislation}}
{{Infobox legislation
| short_title = Immigration and Refugee Protection Act 
<br/>(IRPA)
| legislature = [[Parliament of Canada]]
| long_title = An Act respecting immigration to Canada and the granting of refugee protection to persons who are displaced, persecuted or in danger
| citation = S.C. 2001, c. 27
| image               = Royal Coat of arms of Canada.svg
| imagesize           = 130px
| territorial_extent = 
| enacted_by = 
| date_enacted = 
| date_assented = 1 November 2001
| date_commenced = 28 June 2002
| administered_by = {{plainlist|
*[[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada|IRCC]]
*[[Canada Border Services Agency|CBSA]]
}}
| bill = Bill C-11
| bill_citation = 
| bill_date = 
| introduced_by = 
| 1st_reading = 21 February 2001<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/BillDetails.aspx?Language=E&billId=10095|title = C-11 (37-1) - LEGISinfo - Parliament of Canada}}</ref>
| 2nd_reading = 27 February 2001
| 3rd_reading = 13 June 2001
| committee_report = <small>[https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/37-1/CIMM/report-1/ Report 1 - Bill C-11, An Act respecting immigration to Canada...]</small>
| 1st_reading2 = 14 June 2001
| 2nd_reading2 = 27 September 2001
| committee_report2 = <small>[https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/37-1/CIMM/report-2/ Report 2 - Hands Across the Border: Working Together at Our Shared Border and Abroad to Ensure, Security and Efficiency]</small>
| white_paper = Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations
| repeals = ''[[Immigration Act, 1976]]''
| summary = 
| keywords = 
| status = current
}}{{Canadian citizenship}}
{{italictitle}}
The '''''Immigration and Refugee Protection Act''''' ('''IRPA''') ({{langx|fr|Loi sur l’immigration et la protection des réfugiés}}, LIPR)<ref name=":1">{{Cite canlaw|abbr=S.C.|year=2001|section=18|chapter=27|regtitle=|short title=Immigration and Refugee Protection Act|link=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-2.5/FullText.html|linkloc=Justice Laws}}</ref> is an Act of the [[Parliament of Canada]], administered by [[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada]] (IRCC) and [[Canada Border Services Agency]] (CBSA), that replaced the ''[[Immigration Act, 1976]]'' in 2002 as the primary federal legislation regulating [[immigration to Canada]].<ref>Sinha, Jay, and Margaret Young. 2002. ''"''[http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection-R/LoPBdP/LS/371/c11-e.htm#GENERALtxt General Matters Relating to the Bill]" in ''Bill C-11: Immigration and Refugee Protection Act'' (revised). Ottawa: Government of Canada Publications. Retrieved 2009-12-12.</ref> The "Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations" (IRPR)<ref>{{Cite canlaw|year=2002|regtitle=Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations|link=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-2002-227/page-1.html|linkloc=Justice Laws|regnumber=SOR/2002-227|type=reg}}</ref> specify how provisions of ''IRPA'' are to be applied.

Coming into force on 28 June 2002, the Act created a high-level framework detailing the goals and guidelines the Canadian government has set with regard to immigration to Canada by foreign residents. The ''Act'' also sprouted controversy regarding the government's failure to implement a component of the legislation that would have established a Refugee Appeal Division as part of Canada's immigration system.

The [[Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness|minister of public safety and emergency preparedness]], who oversees agencies such as the CBSA, is responsible for administrating the ''Act'' as it relates to examinations at [[Port of entry|ports of entry]] (POEs); enforcement, including arrests, detentions, removals, and policy establishment; and inadmissibility on the grounds of security, organized criminality, or violation of international rights (incl. human rights). The [[Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship|minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship]], who oversees the IRCC, is responsible for governing the ''Act'' overall.

The [[Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada]] (IRB) is an independent administrative tribunal that is responsible for making well-reasoned decisions of immigration and refugee matters, efficiently, fairly, and in accordance with the law.

== Constitutionality ==
In the 2007 case of ''[[Charkaoui v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)]]'',<ref>''[http://canlii.ca/t/1qljj Charkaoui v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)],'' 2007 [[Supreme Court of Canada|SCC]] 9, [2007] 1 SCR 350. Retrieved via [http://canlii.ca/t/1qljj CanLII] on 2020-04-10.</ref> [[Chief Justice of Canada|Chief Justice]] [[Beverley McLachlin]] held that certain aspects of the scheme contained within the ''Act'' for the detention of [[Permanent residency|permanent residents]] and [[foreign national]]s on the grounds of national security violate s. 7 of the ''[[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]]'' by "allowing the issuance of a certificate of inadmissibility based on secret material without providing for an independent agent at the stage of [[judicial review]] to better protect the named person’s interests."<ref name=":0">''Charkaoui v. Canada'', [http://canlii.ca/t/1qljj#par3 para. 3 (CanLii)].</ref>

McLachlin concluded that "some of the time limits in the provisions for continuing detention of a foreign national violate ss. 9 and 10(c) [of the Charter] because they are arbitrary."<ref name=":0" /> The [[Government of Canada]] responded by introducing a revised [[security certificate]] regime in the ''Act'' that includes the use of special advocates to review a summary of the evidence without being able to share this information with the accused. The bill to amend the ''Act'' was passed by Parliament with support from the Conservative and Liberal caucuses and received royal assent in 2008.

== Regulations ==

=== Regulations made under IRPA ===
The regulations that were made under this Act include:<ref name=":1" />

* Adjudication Division Rules ([[Statutory Orders and Regulations|SOR]]/93-47)
* Federal Courts Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection Rules (SOR/93-22)
* Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227)
* Immigration Appeal Division Rules (SOR/2002-230)
* Immigration Division Rules (SOR/2002-229)
* Ministerial Responsibilities Under the IRPA Order ([[Statutory instrument|SI]]/2015-52)
* [[Oath or affirmation|Oath or Solemn Affirmation]] of Office Rules ([[Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada|Immigration and Refugee Board]]) (SOR/2012-255)
* Order Designating the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration as the Minister responsible for the administration of that Act (SI/2001-120)
* Preclearance in Canada Regulations (SOR/2019-183)
* Protection of Passenger Information Regulations (SOR/2005-346)
* Refugee Appeal Division Rules (SOR/2012-257)
* Refugee Protection Division Rules (SOR/2012-256)
* Regulations Designating a Body for the Purposes of paragraph 91(2)(c) of IRPA (SOR/2011-142)

=== Repealed regulations made under IRPA ===
The regulations that were repealed under this Act include:<ref name=":1" />

* [[Convention refugee|Convention Refugee]] Determination Division Rules ([[Statutory Orders and Regulations|SOR]]/93-45)
* Oath or Solemn Affirmation of Office Rules ([[Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada|IRB]]) (SOR/2002-231)
* Refugee Protection Division Rules (SOR/2002-228)
* Order Setting Out the Respective Responsibilities of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Under the Act ([[Statutory instrument|SI]]/2005-120)

==See also==
* [[Canadian immigration and refugee law]]
* ''[[Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act]]''
* [[Temporary foreign worker program in Canada]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==

* [[Catherine Dauvergne|Dauvergne, Catherine]]. "[https://www.albertalawreview.com/index.php/ALR/article/view/1321/1310 Evaluating Canada's New Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in Its Global Context]." ''Alberta Law Review'' 41(3):725–44. {{doi|10.29173/alr1321}}
* Garritty, Shane. 2008. "[https://harvest.usask.ca/bitstream/handle/10388/etd-04292008-221725/garritty_s.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Immigration and Refugee Protection Act: Balancing Individual Rights and National Security]" ([[Master of Arts|M.A.]] thesis). Saskatoon: University of Saskatchewan. {{Hdl|10388/etd-04292008-221725|hdl-access=free}}.
* Sinha, Jay, and Margaret Young. 26 March 2001. "[https://lop.parl.ca/staticfiles/PublicWebsite/Home/ResearchPublications/LegislativeSummaries/PDF/37-1/c11-e.pdf Bill C-11: Immigration and Refugee Protection Act]." ''Legislative Summary'' [LS-297E]. Ottawa: Parliamentary Research Branch, [[Library of Parliament]]. ([https://lop.parl.ca/sites/PublicWebsite/default/en_CA/ResearchPublications/LegislativeSummaries/371LS397E eText]).
{{Canadian law}}

[[Category:Canadian federal legislation]]
[[Category:2002 in Canadian law]]
[[Category:Canadian immigration law]]
[[Category:37th Canadian Parliament]]
[[Category:Immigration legislation]]
[[Category:Terrorism laws in Canada]]
[[Category:Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada]]