This is a recording of an OCASI webinar held on August 12, 2020.
Webinar title:
The Impact of COVID-19 in the Immigration System: Measures in the Refugee Process
Presented by Francisco Rico-Martinez, Co-director, FCJ Refugee Centre
Webinar description:
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced government institutions to work differently.
This webinar will present an overview on the impact of COVID-19 on the immigration and refugee system, including measures by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
We will look at how the IRB is gradually re-opening, how the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) is resuming in-person hearings, the option of a file review and the video-conference hearings pilot, IRCC changes on inland refugee claims and more.
About the presenter:
Francisco Rico-Martinez, Co-director, FCJ Refugee Centre
Born in El Salvador, Francisco came to Canada in 1990 with Loly, his wife, and their two children. Soon after their arrival, their third child was born. Formally trained as a lawyer and economist, Francisco has been committed to issues of social justice for as long as he can remember. Starting with work in human rights in El Salvador, then solidarity work in Europe, and now work in the field of Refugee Rights in Canada. He is past president of the Canadian Council for Refugees, and has been recognized for his work with the William P. Hubbard Race Relations Award of the City of Toronto and the YMCA Peace Medallion.