LA REGLE DU TIERS PAYS SUR AU REGARD DE L'ARTICLE 12 DE LA CHARTE CANADIENNE

Abstract

Under s. 4601(1)(b) of the Immigration Act, as amended in 1992, a refugee claimant is not eligible to have the claim determined if the claimant arrived in Canada from a prescribed country other than the country of the claimant's nationality. This provision, known as the "safe third country" rule, is intended to alleviate the administrative burden associated with refugee claims by obliging immigration officers to determine the eligibility of a claim without considering the individual circumstances. The author considers whether it may be possible to challenge the safe third country rule under s. 12 of the Charter, which guarantees the right not to be subjected to any cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. In the author's view, the rule will result in number of genuine refugees being exposed to atrocities in their country of origin and, consequently, the rule infringes s. 12. Moreover, the infringement and not be justified as a reasonable limit under section 1 of the Charter.