CIMM Committee News Release
If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.
|
Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent de la citoyenneté et de l'immigration |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
Citizenship and Immigration Committee calls on government to reject proposed politicization of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) appointments process
Ottawa, May 23, 2007 - On May 10th, 2007, by a vote of 7-4, the Standing Committee on Citizenship & Immigration passed a motion urging the government to reject the 5th recommendation of the Public Appointment Commission’s report on the appointment process at the Immigration & Refugee Board of Canada (IRB).
A recently released Public Appointments Commission Secretariat report recommended that the current Advisory Panel and the Selection Board be merged and that both the Minister and the Chair each be given the ability to appoint three of the six members of the new panel. The Committee disagreed with this recommendation and called on the government to reject it.
The Committee stated that the government has created a crisis by its failure to appoint a sufficient number of IRB adjudicators. It recommended that the Government fill the remaining IRB vacancies immediately in order to reduce the growing backlog of individuals awaiting case review hearings. The Conservative members of the Committee disagreed with this recommendation.
Citizenship & Immigration Committee has been hearing evidence on the IRB appointments process as part of its upcoming report on refugee issues, to be tabled in the House in the coming weeks.
- 30 -
|