In terms of how the pre-removal risk assessment process goes, the initial level is with the PRRA officers, who regularly make these kinds of decisions. They review the application made by the individual and the submissions they and their counsel have made. In addition, they look at all sorts of sources of information on country conditions. They may use things that UN bodies, for example, and various international NGOs and research institutes have produced. There is publicly available information that they review in addition to the information the individual and his or her counsel submit. They do weighing and balancing with that information.
That's the file they see. They don't see any of the rest of the government's case. They see the submissions from the individual, plus publicly available information about country conditions and practices.
They make their assessment. If they find there is no risk, that decision can be reviewed by the Federal Court and appealed up through the judicial system. If they find there may be an element of risk, the next step is for the minister's delegate to review. The minister's delegate will receive information from the PRRA officer, so they have that file in their assessment. They will have information from CBSA on the restriction assessment--in other words, the risk to Canada--and they see the information the government has that's been made available to the department in terms of risk.