“Making Canada’s Refugee System Faster and Fairer”: Reviewing the Stated Goals and Unintended Consequences of the 2012 Reform

[Introduction]: "Over the past decade, the Canadian government has changed our refugee protection system markedly. Between 2006 and 2015, the Conservative Government amended the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) (S.C. 2001, c. 27) and associated regulations numerous times, although two recent bills stand out: the Balanced Refugee Reform Act (Bill C-11, 2010) and the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act (Bill C-31, 2012). These bills significantly altered the operation of the refugee status determination (RSD)1 system through “designated country of origin” (DCO) criteria (IRPA, s. 109), “designated irregular arrivals” (IRPA, s. 20.1(1)), and a host of new procedural frameworks."