Bill C-345

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First Reading

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	1st Session, 37th Parliament, 49-50 Elizabeth II, 2001
	House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-345
	An Act to amend the Immigration Act (requirement to show evidence of identity)
	Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
	*1. Section 19(1) of the Immigration Act* is amended by adding the following after paragraph (b):**
	(b.1) subject to subsections 44(2.4) and (2.5), persons who are unable to show evidence of their identity, except a claimant for Convention refugee status in respect of whom a senior immigration officer has made an order, pursuant to subsection 44(2.4) that has not been cancelled pursuant to subsection 44(2.5), that the circumstances of the claimant's departure from the country of origin or travel to Canada made it impossible or impracticable to bring such evidence;
	2. Section 44 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Evidence of identity	(2.1) Subject to subsection (2.5), no person who claims to be a Convention refugee shall be permitted to come into or remain in Canada unless the person shows evidence of identity.
Showing identity	(2.2) A person who arrives in Canada claiming to be a Convention refugee must be asked within seven days of arrival to immediately produce evidence of identity satisfactory to an immigration officer.
Removal from Canada	(2.3) If the immigration officer determines that a person referred to in subsection (2.1) does not have satisfactory evidence of identity, the person shall be removed from Canada forthwith.
Exception	(2.4) A person referred to in subsection (2.3) may, within forty-eight hours of being advised of the determination, give notice to appeal the determination to a senior immigration officer who shall, within seven days of the notice, hold a hearing to determine whether sufficient evidence of identity was offered or if no, why the claimant does not have sufficient evidence of identity and, if the senior immigration officer is satisfied that the circumstances of the claimant's departure from the country of origin or travel to Canada made it impossible or impracticable to bring such evidence, the officer may order, subject to such conditions as the officer may impose respecting the later determination of the claimant's identity, that subsection (2.1) does not apply to the claimant.
Cancellation of order	(2.5) A senior immigration officer who determines that an order under subsection (2.4) was obtained by false or incomplete information or that any condition the order was subject to has been breached, may cancel the order.
Decision final	(2.6) The decision of a senior immigration officer under subsection (2.4) or (2.5) is final and is not subject to appeal.