Canada: Country of Compassion

Canada: Country of Compassion

CANADIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS AND VIEWS

Canada has become world renown for being peace keepers and providing humanitarian and compassionate relief to the world’s needy. This policy of compassion perhaps stems from our experience with military conflicts which have been quite costly in terms of human life in a country where each human life is another we cannot afford to lose. With this value placed on life and the welfare of others, humanitarian and compassionate policy spreads throughout much of public policy, including immigration.

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act has as some of its objectives, “to promote international justice and security by fostering respect for human rights” and “to grant, as a fundamental expression of Canada’s humanitarian ideals, fair consideration to those who come to Canada claiming persecution”.

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act says that the Minister can examine the circumstances concerning a foreign national and may grant the foreign national permanent resident status or otherwise grant an exemption from any applicable criteria or obligation of the Act if the Minister is of the opinion that it is justified by humanitarian or compassionate considerations, taking into account the best interests of a child directly affected, or by public policy considerations.

This can be a very powerful section for those who find themselves in such circumstances that they have no alternative but to seek relief through a compassionate act of another (in this case, Canada, through an immigration officer). In essence, it means that in certain special cases, where it is warranted, the Minister (through the designated officers) can relieve any foreign national from meeting any requirement of the Act and Regulations even so far as granting permanent residence status.

Without exception, when there is a story of how people have found their way into Canada by more or less legal means we will hear the cries of what a loose system we have and how all these people should be rounded up and sent home. However, put a face on one of those people, and make that person your neighbour and suddenly we are moved to say, “But, this is the kind of person we need in Canada.”

If a person loses their entire family in her home country in a terrible disaster, we would expect that Canada should be able to help that person. And so we did. When the Tsunami hit Sri Lanka, there was special effort to speed up the applications of those people who were affected and who had family waiting for them in Canada. So does it take a disaster for Canada to show compassion?

So how does the Minster decide who should receive the relief? Of course, there is the refugee program.Temporary Resident Permits and applications for landing based on humanitarian or compassionate considerations are also ways that people can seek relief. These are designed to allow for those certain cases that could not be foreseen and cannot be dealt with by the immigration rules. Policy makers knew that there was no way to plan for every single situation since immigration deals with people and their sometimes complicated lives. To deal with these cases humanitarian or compassionate relief may be granted in the form of a Temporary Resident Permit or even granting permanent residence depending on the situation. This relief will be granted where there is excessive hardship that would fall upon the people affected by the situation. The hardship must be unusual, excessive, or undeserved and the result of circumstances beyond the control of the people affected.

We often see failed refugee claimants making humanitarian or compassionate applications for landing from within Canada. Often the argument is based on the life the applicant has built in Canada.
It may help to envision these applications as a traditional scale with two pots on either side. On one side you put the fact that the person does not fit the rules. On the other you place a variety of factors like the length of time in Canada, work history, family in Canada, contribution to Canadian society and of course the special reason if any. Then on the other side again you put family in the home country, work history in the home country. In the end, the Immigration Officer must decide which side bears more heavily on his/her mind and heart.

The question is, “Has the officer been so moved by the situation that he should act to relieve the person from their situation”. If so the Minister (through the officer) can grant relief in the form of an exemption from any part of the Act or Regulations including to the extent of granting permanent residence status.

For many worthy cases this is relief indeed. Moreover, they are living examples of Canada’s humanitarian ideals.