The Ontario government’s announcement of cuts to refugees’ legal aid funding has caused the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada to update their procedures and available information.
As of April 15, 2019, Legal Aid Ontario will not issue any new legal aid certificates for refugees for purposes other than preparing their Basis of Claim form. This likely means an increase in unrepresented refugees in hearings and longer hearings and wait times, and it may cause some refugees to miss their deadlines.
To help ensure fair proceedings, the IRB will make several changes to their procedures, including more flexible timelines to unrepresented individuals and more Ready Tours in Toronto to help refugees prepare for hearings.