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Government Delays Response on Refugee Appeal DivisionMEDIA ADVISORY
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(Toronto/Montreal) Amnesty International, the Canadian Council for
Refugees, and KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives today
issued a joint statement urging the Canadian government to implement
its long anticipated Refugee Appeal Division.
The three national organizations, which work for human rights and refugee rights, issued the statement on World Refugee Day, June 20, 2005. Immigration Minister Joe Volpe was invited to appear before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on June 21, 2005 to clarify his position on this important issue. Refugee advocates hoped the Minister would make his plans known at that time.
However, the Minister has declined the invitation. Last December the Standing Committee passed a motion calling on the Minister to either implement the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) provided for in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (2001) or introduce an alternative. Minister Volpe had indicated he would respond to the motion by the end of June 2005, but last week the Minister informed the Standing Committee that the government’s response will now come “in the near future”.
Meanwhile, KAIROS has gathered 24 thousand signatures from Canadians
calling on the Minister to implement the RAD.
To view the statement, please see: http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/media/statements/stmRefugee050620.asp
Media Contacts:
Beth Berton-Hunter
Amnesty International
(416) 363 9933 ext. 32
bberton-hunter
www.amnesty.ca
Adiat Junaid
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
(416) 463 5312 ext. 223
ajunaid
www.kairoscanada.org/e
Catherine Balfour
Communication and Networking Coordinator
Canadian Council for Refugees
(514) 277 7223 ext. 1;
ccr4
www.web.ca/~ccr
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