Canadian Refugee Procedure/4-6 - Enabling Authority

IRPA Sections 4-5

Sections 4-6 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act read:

Enabling Authority

Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
4 (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is responsible for the administration of this Act.

Designated Minister
(1.1) The Governor in Council may, by order, designate a minister of the Crown as the Minister responsible for all matters under this Act relating to special advocates. If none is designated, the Minister of Justice is responsible for those matters.

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
(2) The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness is responsible for the administration of this Act as it relates to
 (a) examinations at ports of entry;
 (b) the enforcement of this Act, including arrest, detention and removal;
 (c) the establishment of policies respecting the enforcement of this Act and inadmissibility on grounds of security, organized criminality or violating human or international rights; or
 (d) declarations referred to in section 42.1.

Minister of Employment and Social Development
(2.1) In making regulations under paragraphs 32(d.1) to (d.4), the Governor in Council may confer powers and duties on the Minister of Employment and Social Development.

Specification
(3) Subject to subsections (1) to (2), the Governor in Council may, by order,
 (a) specify which Minister referred to in any of subsections (1) to (2) is the Minister for the purposes of any provision of this Act; and
 (b) specify that more than one Minister may be the Minister for the purposes of any provision of this Act and specify the circumstances under which each Minister is the Minister.

Publication
(4) Any order made under subsection (3) must be published in Part II of the Canada Gazette.

Regulations
5 (1) Except as otherwise provided, the Governor in Council may make any regulation that is referred to in this Act or that prescribes any matter whose prescription is referred to in this Act.

Application
(1.1) Regulations made under this Act that apply in respect of sponsorship applications or applications for permanent or temporary resident visas, permanent or temporary resident status or work or study permits may, if they so provide, apply in respect of any such applications that are pending on the day on which the regulations are made, other than
 (a) applications to become a permanent resident made in Canada by protected persons; and
 (b) applications for permanent resident visas made by persons referred to in subsection 99(2) and sponsorship applications made in respect of those applications.

Tabling and referral of proposed regulations
(2) The Minister shall cause a copy of each proposed regulation made under sections 17, 32, 53, 61, 87.2, 102, 116, 150 and 150.1 to be laid before each House of Parliament, and each House shall refer the proposed regulation to the appropriate Committee of that House.

Alteration of proposed regulation
(3) A proposed regulation that has been laid before each House of Parliament under subsection (2) does not need to be so laid again, whether or not it has been altered.

Making of regulations
(4) The Governor in Council may make the regulation at any time after the proposed regulation has been laid before each House of Parliament under subsection (2).

IRPA Section 6: Designation of officers and delegation of powers

Designation of officers
6 (1) The Minister may designate any persons or class of persons as officers to carry out any purpose of any provision of this Act, and shall specify the powers and duties of the officers so designated.

Delegation of powers
(2) Anything that may be done by the Minister under this Act may be done by a person that the Minister authorizes in writing, without proof of the authenticity of the authorization.

Exception
(3) Despite subsection (2), the Minister may not delegate the power conferred by subsection 20.1(1), section 22.1 or subsection 42.1(1) or (2) or 77(1).

The Minister may designate any persons or class of persons as officers to carry out any purposes of this Act

Generally speaking, the Board's Divisions and its Members are not designated pursuant to this section. For an example of how this designation and delegation has been carried out, see: Canadian Refugee Procedure/Applications to Vacate or to Cease Refugee Protection#The responsible Minister for applications to cease refugee protection is the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.