Process: Raoul Boulakia and Refugee Lawyers

process: Our concern is the government is continuing to have a governor-in-council appointment process that is political and discretionary instead of going for a transparent process to appoint the most suitable candidates who are competent, judicious, fair-minded and efficient, said Raoul Boulakia of the Refugee Lawyers' Association of Ontario, according to Metro News. The efficiency and quality of the decisions could be compromised if the people who are brought in do not have the expertise and are not judicious. In light of what some critics call inadequate funding and a growing backlog stemming from the recent spike in asylum seekers crossing into Canada via the United States, the loss of the adjudicators on the immigration and refugee appeals tribunals is expected to toss the system into disarray. The Immigration and Refugee Board, which oversees both appeals tribunals, said a total of 14 appointees have left their job since last August and another 39 will have their appointments expire by the end of this year. Currently, 23 of the 58 positions at the refugee appeals tribunal are unfilled while the immigration appeals division has six vacancies out of the full capacity of 44 appointments. It confirmed a total of 42 people applied for reappointments to the tribunals, but would not say how many have been successful. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.