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Critics say PM is staging refugee board power grab: Changes reminiscent of Tories' overhaul of court appointments

Refugee advocates and opposition MPs are raising concerns over a proposed plan by the Harper government to give the federal immigration minister more power to appoint members of the Immigration and Refugee Board.

Critics warn that Prime Minister Stephen Harper appears set to overhaul the appointment process to suit his political and ideological purposes, much as he has been accused of doing with the appointment of judges in the court system.

"The appointments process at the IRB has been really problematic because of the political nature of appointments," said Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council of Refugees. "In the last few years, there has been some movement away from that. ... Now, it seems the government is wanting to claw back political control over the process."

Critics also question whether the proposed appointment changes precipitated the resignation last week of board chairman Jean-Guy Fleury.

The refugee board has 104 members who perform a variety of quasi-judicial functions, such as ruling on refugee claims made within Canada.

Mr. Fleury announced Friday he'll step down March 16, more than eight months before the end of his five-year term. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family and "pursue new endeavours."

But in a letter to Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley, Mr. Fleury said the board's "current structure is dated and lacks sufficient clarity vis-a-vis accountabilities."

Mr. Fleury's announcement follows the departure of executive director Marilyn Stuart-Major, who retired Feb. 2, and the deputy chairman of the refugee-protection division, Gaetan Cousineau, who was not reappointed by the government after his term expired in November.

"It's really a concern. Who's looking after the shop right now?" asked Liberal MP Omar Alghabra, the party's immigration critic.

The leadership vacuum comes at a critical time for the tribunal, which has 52 vacancies for adjudicators and a backlog of 23,495 refugee cases waiting to be heard. After falling from roughly 50,000 cases in 2002, the backlog rose by more than 3,000 cases in 2006.

"It's not just about the IRB. It's about the integrity of our refugee system, it's about refugees waiting to hear their cases heard, it's about the security of our country and our international obligations," said Mr. Alghabra.

Refugee board spokeswoman Dominique Forget refused to elaborate on the reasons for the departures of Mr. Fleury and Ms. Stuart-Major. She said it was the government's "prerogative" not to reappoint Mr. Cousineau.

But board watchers speculate the exodus is linked to the government's plan to change the appointment process.

Last November, former citizenship and immigration minister Monte Solberg launched a review of the way in which board members are appointed. The review was conducted by the public appointments commission secretariat.

On Monday, only days after Mr. Fleury announced his resignation, the department posted a report showing the results of the review on its website.