Filing a refugee claim in Canada has become more challenging since the launch of the new refugee portal past month. The portal ignores that many refugee claimants are not tech-savvy or equipped to understand some of the very specific questions in the portal. This can open the floodgates to misrepresentation allegations, which can further undermine the refugee claims.
All refugee claimants must answer the following questions before they submit their claims:
- Have you ever had any serious disease, or physical or mental disorder?
- Do you currently have any infectious diseases?
- Have you ever been convicted of a crime in any country or territory?
- Have you ever been arrested or detained in any country or territory?
- Have you ever been charged, sought, or wanted for a crime in any country or territory?
- Have you ever committed a crime in any country or territory?
- Have you ever held any government position?
- Did you serve in any military, militia, civil defence unit, security organization or police force?
- Have you supported, been a member of, or been associated with any organizations?
- Have you supported, been a member of, or been associated with any organizations that uses, used, advocated or advocates the use of armed struggle or violence to reach political, religious, or social objectives?
- Have you been a member of any organization that is or was engaged in criminal activity?
- Have you ever witnessed or participated in the ill treatment of prisoners or civilians, looting or desecration of religious buildings?
- Have you ever used, planned, or advocated the use of armed struggle or violence to reach political, social or religious objectives?
The refugee claimants also need to provide the following information:
- route they used to come to Canada;
- airplane ticket number used to come to Canada;
- work history for the past 10 years;
- address history for the past 10 years; and
- information on any family members or/and friends in Canada.
Many refugee claimants do not have access to legal representation when they make the refugee claims. Some do not know English or French well enough to understand what the portal asks. Handling persistent tech glitches is another issue that all portal users encounter. I sometimes wonder: Is the new refugee portal a new obstacle in providing access to justice?