REFUGEES IN CANADA

4118 WD

Background The year 1976 marked the first time that refugees stopped being dealt with on an ad-hoc basis, meaning they had been dealt with on an individual level, rather than having resolutions created to fit a general problem – resolutions and claims designed so that they could be adapted and manipulated in order to become more useful. The implementation of the 1976 Immigration Act saw the creation of a determination process for refugees seeking refugee status from beyond Canadian borders. There were problems from the beginning with this system. For instance, under the Immigration Act, all applications for asylum were made by paper, and there was no possibility for an oral hearing. In 1985, however, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that not allowing applicants an oral hearing violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Upon introduction of oral hearings as part of the claim process there was a subsequent increase in the amount of refugees admitted to Canada. While in 1981 there were approximately 14,000 refugees admitted out of a total of approximately 129,000 immigrants, in 1986 the number of refugees jumped to approximately 19,000 out of a total of only 99,000 immigrants. While this was a step in the right direction it appears to be one of the only occasions that an amendment made to the Canadian system for refugees and asylum seekers was beneficial in upholding the rights of the refugees. Since then we have seen a thickening of the border and impaired