Reforms to refugee rules could shift procedural burden onto vulnerable claimants

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In a nutshell

The CBA’s Immigration Law Section is commenting on the Rules Amending the Refugee Protection Division Rules published in the Canada Gazette, Part I on June 20, 2026.

The CBA supports improving the efficiency and integrity of the asylum system, including providing clear and transparent procedural requirements, improving case management, reducing postponements, and supporting more timely and efficient proceedings. However, several of the proposed changes shift procedural burdens onto claimants without corresponding safeguards, as well as creating additional administrative and case burdens on the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) itself, both of which will negatively impact on the objective of timely and efficient refugee proceedings.

Key concerns

The CBA’s most significant concerns are:

1. The 30-day post-referral deadline for personal document disclosure neither reflects a realistic time to gather corroborating evidence nor responds to the requirement to provide up-to-date supporting evidence to establish the continuing and changing risk faced by claimants at the time of the hearing;
2. The new pre-referral abandonment regime should preserve access to oral hearings where a claimant’s account, credibility, or capacity is in dispute, given the stakes involved;
3. Shifting the IRB’s independent authority to grant extensions to the Minister removes an important independent check at an early, critical stage of the claim; and
4. The removal of the requirement to accommodate a person’s vulnerability as part of the assessment of “exceptional circumstances” in Rules 10(5) and 54(4) risks reducing access to justice for such persons, as well as compromising the fairness of the proceedings.

Why this matters

The CBA recognizes the significant caseload pressures facing the RPD. However, several of the specific mechanisms chosen to alleviate these pressures, outlined above, do not adequately account for the practical barriers claimants face in gathering evidence and complying with early deadlines, and risk undermining procedural fairness in the pursuit of efficiency.

Read the full submission (disponible uniquement en anglais).

Note: The CBA is also providing comments on the corresponding draft amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.