Section 15 — Examination
Text of provision
(1) An officer is authorized to proceed with an examination if a person makes an application to the officer in accordance with this Act or if an application is made under subsection 11(1.01).
(2) In the case of a foreign national referred to in subsection 9(1), an examination of whether the foreign national complies with the applicable selection criteria shall be conducted solely on the basis of documents delivered by the province indicating that the competent authority of the province is of the opinion that the foreign national complies with the province’s selection criteria.
(3) An officer may board and inspect any means of transportation bringing persons to Canada, examine any person carried by that means of transportation and any record or document respecting that person, seize and remove the record or document to obtain copies or extracts and hold the means of transportation until the inspection and examination are completed.
(4) The officer shall conduct the examination in accordance with any instructions that the Minister may give.
Plain English
Section 15 gives officers the authority to examine any person applying for entry into Canada, as well as persons in Canada who are subject to the Act. The examination power is broad — officers may question the person and require them to produce documents.
Section 15(1) authorises examination of persons seeking to enter Canada. Section 15(2) extends this to persons already in Canada who do not hold a permanent resident card, citizenship certificate, or other satisfactory evidence of status.
Practical effect
The examination power in s 15 is the legal basis for border examinations at ports of entry and inland examinations by CBSA officers. It triggers the obligation in s 16 for the person to answer truthfully and produce documents.
A referral to secondary examination is an exercise of the s 15 power. The results of an examination can lead to an inadmissibility report under s 44.