Section 4 — Responsibilities of Minister
Text of provision
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is responsible for the administration of this Act.
(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.
(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, violating human or international rights, sanctions, transborder criminality or organized criminality; or
(d) declarations referred to in section 42.1.
(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.
(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.
(4) Any order made under subsection (3) must be published in Part II of the Canada Gazette.
Plain English
Section 4(1) designates the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (now Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) as the Minister responsible for administering IRPA, subject to the provisions of s 4(2) which assigns certain border enforcement functions to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.
Section 4(3) permits the two Ministers to enter into agreements with the provinces, territories, and foreign governments relating to immigration and refugee matters.
Practical effect
The division of ministerial responsibility between IRCC and CBSA (formerly CIC and CBSA) has practical consequences for how decisions are made. IRCC officers process applications and make visa decisions; CBSA officers exercise border enforcement functions including removal, detention, and inadmissibility hearings. Some overlap exists — both agencies have officers who can make certain admissibility determinations.