More than 200 people who are barred from admission to Canada have asked the public safety minister for exemptions since 2010, but only eight have received a decision.
Is this system "designed not to work"? thestar.com/news/canada/20…
Is this system "designed not to work"? thestar.com/news/canada/20…
When someone is ruled inadmissible to Canada, they can seek out a special exemption known as "ministerial relief." The problem, critics say, is that the requests are processed at such a glacial pace that the remedial measure is essentially non-existent. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
The Canada Border Services Agency said there are currently 294 outstanding ministerial relief applications — including 77 that were received between 2000 and 2009; the rest were made after 2010. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
“This whole system is designed not to work. That’s my conclusion. It’s an unaccountable system,” said independent public interest researcher Ken Rubin, an Ottawa-based advocate for the right to information and critic of secrecy practices in Canada. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
“Why remove some of these people or deal with them if you can just keep them in limbo forever and ever? So, that to me is very troublesome,” Rubin said. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
For Kirupa Kanesamoorthy, separated from her husband and raising their daughters alone, it’s visceral. "Every birthday, my daughters keep asking, ‘When are you coming to Canada, Dad?" thestar.com/news/canada/20…
The decision that a person was a member of a group that poses a threat to Canada does not require proof, but "reasonable grounds." This situation can trap a person in this country, with no pathway to gaining status, said one immigration lawyer. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
“If we can’t deport them, they can just stay here without permanent status. And if they don’t like it, they’ll leave. That’s what (the government) wants,” said immigration lawyer Barbara Jackman.
thestar.com/news/canada/20…
thestar.com/news/canada/20…
“They can’t leave to visit their families. They can’t bring their families here. They can’t settle. Some of them have been here for a long time. Two of my clients are now seniors. They’re retiring,” Jackman said.
thestar.com/news/canada/20…
thestar.com/news/canada/20…
CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy said "processing an application for ministerial relief requires an in-depth review of a voluminous amount of information and submissions" and "entails a complex assessment of many national interest factors." thestar.com/news/canada/20… 
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