We talked about fundamental rights and natural justice. The right to appeal falls under that. In fact, appeal is a right that allows judges to fix potential errors in decisions that affect the lives and rights of individuals. That is why it is important.
Refugee claimants in Canada appear before one single decision-maker, who has to determine whether they need Canada's protection or whether they are eligible for that protection. That decision rests with one single person, who decides the fate of an asylum seeker. Should an error occur at the eligibility stage, the asylum seeker will not be able to appeal on the merits of the decision.
But as we all know, it has been demonstrated that difficult decisions had to be made in immigration and that not all decision-makers make decisions in the same way. So some are in favour, some are not, and some can even be completely incompatible, because one or other decision-maker was subjective.
Actually, those rulings can sometimes be inconsistent. In addition, asylum seekers are often poorly represented and immigration decision-makers are not infallible.
The fact that there has been no appeal division until now is already a violation of the principle of the rule of law. Parliament passed a piece of legislation providing for an appeal division for asylum seekers on the merits of their case and it has not been implemented. That is also a violation of the rule of law to a certain extent. It is important that this amendment be passed.
Thank you.