Wed. Jul. 29 2009, CTV.ca News Staff

There have been virtually no asylum claims from Czech or Mexican nationals in the two weeks since the federal government required them to obtain travel visas before visiting Canada, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Wednesday. On July 13, the Conservative government announced it was imposing the new visa requirement on the two countries because they are the two top sources of refugee claims, many of which turn out to be unwarranted. In an interview with CTV’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife before a Conservative caucus meeting in Ottawa, Kenney said Canada has received only one refugee claim from the two countries since a 48-hour grace period ended on July 15.

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Jul 28, 2009 by Nicholas Kohler, Macleans.ca

Conservatives—especially those with Reform roots—have always disliked the Supreme Court’s 1985 Singh decision. It ruled that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies not just to Canadians, but to anyone who steps foot in Canada—even foreigners who arrive illegally and file refugee claims. Because the ruling specifically required that asylum seekers be granted oral hearings, it lead to the creation of the Immigration and Refugee Board, an independent, quasi-judicial body that now determines who does and doesn’t warrant our protection.

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By Juliet O’Neill, Canwest News ServiceJuly 23, 2009

OTTAWA — About 5,000 Haitian and other refugee claimants entering Canada from the United States will be turned back annually under a tightened rule put into effect by the federal government Thursday. Claimants from Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zimbabwe will be sent back across the border if they arrive from the United States. The rule was announced Thursday evening. The government also ended a suspension of deportations to Burundi, Liberia and Rwanda, a move that could affect about 2,000 people. Though deportations are no longer suspended, effective immediately, those who have been in Canada for some time are expected to be given six months to sort out their status in Canada.
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by Michelle Collins, July 22, 2009, Embassy Mag

Jason Kenney has compromised his position as immigration minister by repeatedly slamming the validity of various refugee claims and blatantly undermining the independence of Canada’s refugee tribunal, legal and immigration experts, including former IRB chairman Peter Showler, are charging. Over the past several months, Mr. Kenney has publicly declared asylum claims by U.S. war deserters to be “bogus,” accused would-be Mexican refugees of systematically abusing the system, and questioned the legitimacy of refugee claims by Roma from the Czech Republic.

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Globe and Mail, Thursday, Jul. 16, 2009

Canada needs a refugee-claims system that will quickly turn away those who falsely claim persecution to take advantage of the country’s generosity, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says. Imposing visa restrictions on Czechs and Mexicans was necessary to stem a rising flow of claimants, he said, but what is really needed is an asylum system that accepts or rejects refugees quickly – and he indicated he is working on a reform proposal: “Stay tuned,” he said.

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