Vol. 145, No. 14 — July 6, 2011

Registration

SOR/2011-126 June 16, 2011

IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT

ARCHIVED — Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

P.C. 2011-621 June 16, 2011

Whereas, pursuant to subsection 5(2) (see footnote a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (see footnote b), the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has caused a copy of the proposed Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, substantially in the annexed form, to be laid before each House of Parliament;

Therefore, His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, pursuant to subsection 5(1) and sections 17, 32 and 53 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (see footnote c), hereby makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION REGULATIONS

AMENDMENTS

1. Subparagraphs 178(1)(b)(i) and (ii) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (see footnote 1) are replaced by the following:

  1. (i) a statutory declaration attesting to the applicant’s identity made by a person who, before the applicant’s entry into Canada, knew the applicant, a family member of the appli-cant or the applicant’s father, mother, brother, sister, grand-father or grandmother, or
    (ii) a statutory declaration attesting to the applicant’s identity made by an official of an organization representing nationals of the applicant’s country of nationality or former habitual residence.

2. Paragraph 186(n) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

  1. (n) as an examiner or evaluator of research proposals or university projects, programs or theses;

3. (1) The portion of subsection 190(1) of the English version of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Visa exemption — nationality

190. (1) A foreign national is exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa if they

(2) The portion of subsection 190(2) of the English version of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Visa exemption — documents

(2) A foreign national is exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa if they

(3) Subsection 190(2.1) of the English version of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Visa exemption — nationality and documents

(2.1) A foreign national who is a citizen of Lithuania or Poland is exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa if they hold a machine readable passport that contains a contactless integrated circuit chip and that is issued by Lithuania or Poland, as the case may be.

(4) The portion of subsection 190(3) of the English version of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Visa exemption — purpose of entry

(3) A foreign national is exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa if they are seeking to enter and remain in Canada solely

(5) The portion of subsection 190(3.1) of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Visa exemption — crew member

(3.1) A foreign national who is a member of a crew and who is carried to Canada by a vessel is exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa if they are seeking

4. Section 192 of the French version of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Qualité

192. Est un visiteur et appartient à la catégorie des visiteurs l’étranger autorisé à entrer au Canada et à y séjourner à ce titre.

5. Subsection 224(1) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Departure order

224. (1) For the purposes of subsection 52(1) of the Act, an enforced departure order is a circumstance in which the foreign national is exempt from the requirement to obtain an authorization in order to return to Canada.

6. (1) Subsection 225(2) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Exception

(2) For the purposes of subsection 52(1) of the Act, the expiry of a one-year period following the enforcement of an exclusion order, or a two-year period if subsection (3) applies, is a circumstance in which the foreign national is exempt from the requirement to obtain an authorization in order to return to Canada.

(2) Subsection 225(4) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Application of par. 42(b) of the Act

(4) For the purposes of subsection 52(1) of the Act, the making of an exclusion order against a foreign national on the basis of inadmissibility under paragraph 42(b) of the Act is a circumstance in which the foreign national is exempt from the requirement to obtain an authorization in order to return to Canada.

7. Subsection 226(2) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Application of par. 42(b) of the Act

(2) For the purposes of subsection 52(1) of the Act, the making of a deportation order against a foreign national on the basis of inadmissibility under paragraph 42(b) of the Act is a circumstance in which the foreign national is exempt from the requirement to obtain an authorization in order to return to Canada.

COMING INTO FORCE

8. 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.)

Issue and objectives

In January 2006, the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations (SJCSR) completed a review of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) and noted various technical errors and inconsistencies that require attention by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Canada (CIC).

Description

The amendments to the IRPR fall broadly into the following three categories:

  • Amendments to certain English provisions so that they more accurately reflect the language currently in use in the corresponding French texts;
  • Amendments to certain French provisions so that they more accurately reflect the language currently in use in the corresponding English texts; and
  • Amendments to ensure consistency in the English and/or French terminology used throughout the IRPR.

Rationale

The SJCSR is authorized under the Statutory Instruments Act to scrutinize almost all federal statutory instruments and it reviews hundreds of regulations each year to ensure that

  • the executive possessed the statutory authority to make the regulation;
  • the regulation complies with applicable laws, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; and
  • the executive followed the proper procedure in enacting the regulation or issuing the statutory instrument.

When the SJCSR alleges that a regulation that does not comply with the aforementioned criteria, it contacts the government body responsible for the instrument.

CIC has been in communication with the SJCSR and acknowledged the need to amend the IRPR in a timely manner. This is the second set of regulatory amendments that respond to the SJCSR’s review — a previous package of technical amendments corrected 25 errors and inconsistencies noted by the SJCSR (SOR/2009-163 and SOR/2009-290). This second phase contains 34 amendments, of which 24 have already come into force. The final phase is expected to be completed by fall of 2011.

The amendments have no impact on public policy and present no cost to the Government of Canada or the private sector.

Consultation

External consultations for the regulatory amendments were not undertaken, as the changes are not substantive in nature. CIC has kept the SJCSR apprised of its progress on the required regulatory amendments.

Pursuant to subsection 5(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, these Regulations were tabled before both houses of Parliament. Furthermore, stakeholders were also provided with a 15-day comment period following pre-publication of this regulatory amendment in the Canada Gazette, Part I.

Contact

Tina Matos
Acting Director
Cabinet Briefings and Regulatory Affairs
Strategic Policy Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
365 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1
Telephone: 613-960-5879
Fax: 613-954-5896
Email: tina.matos@cic.gc.ca

Footnote a
S.C. 2008, c. 3, s. 2

Footnote b
S.C. 2001, c. 27

Footnote c
S.C. 2001, c. 27

Footnote 1
SOR/2002-227