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e-1813 (Immigration)

E-petition
Initiated by QIUMIN TAN from Edmonton, Alberta

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Whereas:
  • Section 38(1)(c) of the Immigration Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) allows rejection of a permanent or temporary residency applicant and their entire family if the applicant has a disability or medical condition that causes an “excessive demand on health or social services”;
  • The assessment of “excessive demand” is a cost assessment of the disability but not the individual. It ignores contributions of the individual and family to Canadian society;
  • Section 38(1)(c) violates Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by discriminating people with mental and physical disabilities;
  • Section 38(1)(c) also violates the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
  • Every year, one thousand people are ruled “inadmissible” to Canada due to “excessive demand”, including four hundred children with intellectual disability. As such, the excessive demand provision impedes family reunion and integration of newcomers;
  • The Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship acknowledged that Section 38(1)(c) was “out of step” with Canadian values and subsequently increased the cost threshold for excessive demand from $6,604 to $19,812 in June 2018; and
  • By the Minister’s own account, the changes made will only reduce the structural discrimination of this policy by 75%.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, families and friends of those affected by the medial inadmissibility clause, call upon the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to repeal Section 38(1)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and completely end this discrimination against individuals and families with mental and physical disabilities.
Open for signature
August 13, 2018, at 1:58 p.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
December 11, 2018, at 1:58 p.m. (EDT)
Photo - Jenny Kwan
Vancouver East
New Democratic Party Caucus
British Columbia