Vol. 149, No. 10 — May 20, 2015

Registration

SOR/2015-95 May 1, 2015

IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT

Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Fees — Public Policy)

P.C. 2015-468 April 30, 2015

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, pursuant to subsections 5(1) and 89(1) (see footnote a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (see footnote b), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Fees — Public Policy).

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION REGULATIONS (FEES — PUBLIC POLICY)

AMENDMENTS

1. The heading before section 307 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (see footnote 1) is replaced by the following:

Fees for a Request under Section 25 of the Act or an Examination of Circumstances under Section 25.2 of the Act

2. The portion of section 307 of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Fees

307. The following fees are payable for processing an application made in accordance with section 66 or for examining the circumstances under subsection 25.2(1) of the Act of a foreign national who applies for permanent resident status or for a permanent resident visa, if no fees are payable in respect of the same applicant for processing an application to remain in Canada as a permanent resident or an application for a permanent resident visa:

COMING INTO FORCE

3. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

Section 307 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) requires amendment to include reference to the public policy provision (section 25.2) in addition to the existing reference to humanitarian and compassionate consideration requested by a foreign national (section 25).

Background

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) authorizes the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (the Minister) to grant permanent resident status or exemptions from any applicable requirement of IRPA or its Regulations on the basis of public policy considerations. This authority (section 25.2) of IRPA was created with the passage of the Balanced Refugee Reform Act (BRRA) on June 29, 2010.

Prior to royal assent of the BRRA, the Minister’s public policy considerations authority fell under section 25 of IRPA, the same provision as the authority to grant permanent resident status or an exemption from certain criteria or obligations of IRPA based on humanitarian and compassionate (H and C) considerations.

In November 2010, shortly after royal assent of the BRRA, a regulatory package was expedited in order to ensure that persons granted positive consideration under the new public policy provision (section 25.2) retained the same benefits that flowed from the granting of positive consideration under the former section 25 of IRPA. While most of the H and C regulations were updated at that time to reflect the new public policy provision (section 25.2), the fees regulation associated with applications under section 25, was not updated.

Objectives

The objective of the amendment is to clarify in regulations the Minister’s authority to charge processing fees for examination of public policy considerations under the public policy provision (section 25.2) of IRPA, as well as for applications submitted under the H and C provision (section 25).

Description

The Regulations amend section 307 of the IRPR to add reference to subsection 25.2(1) of the Act in that provision, in order to clarify that the fee structure laid out in section 307 applies both to an application by a foreign national for H and C consideration under subsection 25(1) and to the examination of public policy considerations initiated by the Minister under subsection 25.2(1).

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to this proposal, as there are no administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to this proposal, as there are no costs imposed on small business.

Rationale

The amendments make technical amendments to update the H and C and public policy fees regulations to reflect legislative amendments that came into force with the passage of the BRRA on June 29, 2010.

By including a specific reference to the public policy provision in the existing H and C and public policy fees regulation, the Minister’s authority to charge fees in respect of both these provisions would be clarified. These amendments reflect current Citizenship and Immigration Canada policy and practice, and do not add or change any fees.

It should be noted that the BRRA also introduced an amendment under subsection 25.2(2) of the public policy provision authorizing the Minister to exempt a foreign national from the payment of any applicable fees relating to examination of public policy considerations under subsection 25.2(1) of the public policy provision. The amendment to the fees regulation will not limit the Minister’s ability to waive fees.

There are no costs associated with this proposed regulatory amendment.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

This amendment does not entail implementation requirements, as it reflects current practice.

Contact

Justine Akman
Director
Social Policy and Programs
Immigration Branch
365 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1
Telephone: 613-437-6623
Fax: 613-941-9323
Email: Justine.Akman@cic.gc.ca