Inadmissibility

• Author: Michael Battista/Adrienne Smith
• Pages: 185-215

185

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Inadmissibility

I. Introduction ............................................. 186

II. Criminality .............................................. 186

III. Health Grounds .......................................... 196

IV. Financial Reasons ........................................ 205

V. Misrepresentation ........................................ 208

VI. Inadmissible Family Members .............................. 213

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186 Part III Barriers to Family Reunification

I. Introduction

The history of immigration to Canada is littered with exclusionary policies and mech-

anisms concerning who is admitted to Canada and who is not. Although the intro-

duction of human rights legislation, stemming largely from the entrenchment of the

Charter, has acted as an important tool in combatting the harm of exclusionary legis-

lation over the years, in practice these safeguards are not always enough. The creation

of “prohibited classes” of persons deemed unacceptable for admission to Canada

(including those with health issues, disabilities, and criminality) has allowed govern-

ment after government in Canadian history to continue to “keep out” those they

deem to be less desirable.1 In fact, the process of selection of immigrants to Canada

has been historically characterized by “the exercise of wide discretionary powers

within a framework that is exclusionary in its nature and philosophy.”2

When it comes to family sponsorship, even those in the family class or the spouse

or common law partner in Canada class who have been approved as eligible to be

sponsored must complete “stage two” processing of their permanent residence appli-

cations. At this stage, the applicant is evaluated to determine whether they are in-

admissible to Canada on criminal, medical, or other grounds. This assessment also

extends to an applicant’s dependent family members, regardless of whether they are

seeking permanent residence in Canada. This process can place the entire family in a

state of limbo while they await a final decision. Each ground for inadmissibility involves

its own requirements and legal tests, which will be discussed in the following sections.

II. Criminality

Sections 34, 35, and 37 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act3 set out the cir-

cumstances under which a permanent resident or foreign national can be found in-

admissible on the most serious grounds, including terrorism, violating human rights

or international rights, and organized criminality. These types of inadmissibilities

occur relatively infrequently and do not apply to the more common types of criminal

activity that one might contemplate. Rather, most criminal inadmissibilities fall under

section 36 of the IRPA.

Section 36 of the IRPA sets out the criteria by which an individual can be consid-

ered inadmissible to Canada on grounds of “serious criminality” and “criminality.”

These sections cover both minor and serious crimes, including theft, assault, man-

slaughter, dangerous driving, and possession or trafficking in controlled substances, to

1 Rose Voyvodic, “Into the Wasteland: Applying Equality Principles to Medical Inadmissibility

in Canadian Immigration Law” (2001) 16 JL & Soc Pol’y 115 at 130.

2 Ibid at 131.

3 SC 2001, c 27 [IRPA].

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