Section 115 — Non-refoulement
Text of provision
(1) A protected person or a person who is recognized as a Convention refugee by another country to which the person may be returned shall not be removed from Canada to a country where they would be at risk of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion or at risk of torture or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in the case of a person
(a) who is inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality and who constitutes, in the opinion of the Minister, a danger to the public in Canada; or
(b) who is inadmissible on grounds of security, violating human or international rights or organized criminality if, in the opinion of the Minister, the person should not be allowed to remain in Canada on the basis of the nature and severity of acts committed or of danger to the security of Canada.
(3) A person, after a determination under paragraph 101(1)(e) that the person’s claim is ineligible, is to be sent to the country from which the person came to Canada, but may be sent to another country if that country is designated under subsection 102(1) or if the country from which the person came to Canada has rejected their claim for refugee protection.
Plain English
Section 115(1) provides that a protected person or a person who is recognised as a Convention refugee by a foreign country and is seeking protection from that same country may not be removed to a country where they would be at risk of the type of persecution described in s 96, or of a danger of torture or cruel and unusual treatment as described in s 97.
Section 115(2) creates an exception for persons who are inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality or security where the Minister is of the opinion that the person constitutes a danger to the public in Canada or to the security of Canada.
Practical effect
Non-refoulement under s 115 is the domestic implementation of Canada's obligations under the Refugee Convention and the Convention Against Torture. It applies regardless of whether the person has been found inadmissible — a dangerous criminal who is a Convention refugee cannot be removed to a country of persecution unless the danger-to-public exception applies. The danger opinion under s 115(2) is a separate ministerial process; the person may make submissions before the opinion is rendered. Persons against whom a danger opinion has been issued can still seek judicial review of that opinion.