Canadian Refugee Procedure/140 - Seizure

IRPA Section 140

Section 140 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act reads:

Seizure

140 (1) An officer may seize and hold any means of transportation, document or other thing if the officer believes on reasonable grounds that it was fraudulently or improperly obtained or used or that the seizure is necessary to prevent its fraudulent or improper use or to carry out the purposes of this Act.

Interpretation
(2) Despite subsection 42(2) of the Canada Post Corporation Act, a thing or document that is detained under the Customs Act and seized by an officer is not in the course of post for the purposes of the Canada Post Corporation Act.

Regulations
(3) The regulations may provide for any matter relating to the application of this section and may include provisions respecting the deposit of security as a guarantee to replace things that have been seized or that might otherwise be seized, and the return to their lawful owner, and the disposition, of things that have been seized.

The Division and its Members are not designated to seize documents or other things pursuant to this provision

Section 140 of the Act provides that an officer may seize and hold the listed things if the listed conditions are met. Such officers who have this power are those designated by the Minister as per section 6 of the Act: Canadian Refugee Procedure/4-6 - Enabling Authority. This power must also be exercised in conformity with section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which provides that everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure: Canadian Refugee Procedure/Charter of Rights and Freedoms#Section 8: Unreasonable search or seizure. The Division and its staff are not designated for the purposes of this section. That said, pursuant to their powers under the Inquiries Act, Members have the power of summoning before them any witnesses, and of requiring them to produce such documents and things as the commissioners deem requisite to the full investigation of the matters into which they are appointed to examine: Canadian Refugee Procedure/Powers of a Member#Part I of the Inquiries Act.

An officer designated by the Minister may seize documents from the Division pursuant to this power

An officer designated by the Minister may seize and hold a document if the officer believes on reasonable grounds that it was fraudulently or improperly obtained or used or that the seizure is necessary to prevent its fraudulent or improper use or to carry out the purposes of IRPA pursuant to section 140(1) of that Act. The section does not contain any limitations as to from whom such a document can be seized. Therefore, the designated immigration officer may exercise this power to seize a claimant’s document that is in the possession of the Division.