A federal judge has thrown out a bid by immigration lawyers to force Canada to declare that all foreigners in immigration and refugee proceedings — including illegal border crossers — have a right to publicly funded legal counsel.Blacklock's Reporter says Justice Patrick Gleeson ruled that a declaration sought by the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association was unnecessary because individuals can already retain and instruct their own lawyers in such matters.“The right to counsel in immigration matters is one that has been raised, and continues to be raised, by directly affected individuals,” Gleeson wrote in his decision dismissing the application.The lawyers’ group filed seven affidavits, including statements from a psychologist and a law professor, arguing for a formal declaration of a right to counsel in applications, interviews and examinations under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The Department of Justice successfully opposed the move.“There is no legal bar to individuals retaining and instructing counsel to represent them in matters relating to applications, interviews and examinations under the Immigration And Refugee Protection Act,” the justice department argued. “However, nor is there any corresponding legal obligation for the Minister to recognize counsel, interact with them and accord them participatory rights in those matters."While the immigration lawyers said counsel should be available at an individual’s own expense, other advocacy groups have pushed for taxpayer-funded legal aid. Amnesty International, in a submission to the House of Commons finance committee last year, called on the federal government to treat the budget as “a moral and political instrument that centres on dignity, justice, human rights and well-being of all peoples with particular attention to marginalized communities..”Amnesty recommended that Ottawa provide Legal Aid funding to ensure “certainty and consistency for refugees and migrants” across the country, including for refugee claimants.The group did not provide a cost estimate. Parliament already transfers funds to provinces and territories for legal aid programs.Existing free counsel initiatives for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers saw costs surge 378% , with annual funding hiked from $11.5 million to $55 million on a permanent basis, according to a 2024 Department of Justice memo on supplementary estimates.Meanwhile, the Courts Administration Service has recorded a quadrupling of new immigration-related applications in federal courts since 2017 — rising from 5,572 to 24,784 per year.A departmental results report noted the backlog is straining resources and affecting Canadians with other business before the courts.“Current and emerging funding pressures are expected to limit or reduce our ability to both modernize and maintain essential Court operations,” the report stated. Federal courts operate on an $84.7 million annual budget.
