April 4th, Refugee Rights Day

April 4th is the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1985 Singh decision.  In this decision the Supreme Court found that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the fundamental rights of refugees. The Court decided that ‘everyone’ includes refugee claimants in the sentence: ‘Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.’  Refugee claimants are therefore entitled to an oral hearing, in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice and international law. https://ccrweb.ca/en/refugee-rights-day