# Canadian Refugee Procedure/95-97 - Refugee Protection, Convention Refugees and Persons in Need of Protection
## IRPA Sections 95-97

Sections 95-97 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act read:

### Section 95(1): Refugee protection is conferred on a person in three specified situations

Section 95(1) of the IRPA provides that refugee protection is conferred on a person in three specified circumstances: (i) they become a protected person through resettlement (section 95(1)(a) of the IRPA), (ii) they are found to be a refugee by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) (section 95(1)(b) of the IRPA), and (iii) they have a positive pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) (section 95(1)(c) of the IRPA). This subsection of the IRPA provides an exhaustive list of scenarios where refugee protection is conferred. This provision has been summarized as follows: in accordance with subsection 95(1) of the IRPA, Canada currently confers refugee protection, and thus protected person status, in essentially one of two ways: (i) by determining that an individual is a member of one of the classes prescribed in Division 1 of Part 8 of the IRPR (e.g., the CRA class under sections 144 and 145 of the IRPR: Canadian Refugee Procedure/IRPR ss. 138-151.1 - Convention Refugees Abroad, Humanitarian-protected Persons Abroad and Protected Temporary Residents), and granting them permanent or temporary residency; or (ii) by determining that an individual is a Convention refugee or a person in need of similar protection, and accepting their inland refugee claim or application for protection. Persons who become members of the Convention Refugees Abroad class because of their family status are not conferred refugee protection if they are never themselves determined to be Convention refugees by the government.

### Section 95(2): Refugee protection is conferred on a person in the specific circumstances and it ceases as specified in s. 95(2)

A question can arise about how these provisions interact with Canadian citizenship. In Canada v. Zaric, the court concluded that Mr. Zaric automatically ceased to be a Convention refugee under international law when he acquired Canadian citizenship. However, this did not mean that he automatically ceased to be a protected person under Canadian domestic law, specifically subsection 95(2) of the IRPA.

### 97(1)(b)(iv): The humanitarian and compassionate process applies to those who face a risk to their lives as a result of a country's inability to provide adequate health or medical care

The humanitarian and compassionate process set out in s. 25 of the IRPA applies to, among others, those who face a risk to their lives as a result of a country's inability to provide adequate health or medical care. It specifically provides an exception to the bar on past refugee claimants applying for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate reasons for this reason. See: Canadian Refugee Procedure/25 - Humanitarian and compassionate considerations — request of foreign national.

## References

* ↑ IRCC, Eligibility for referral to the IRB, Date modified: 2023-06-02, <https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/refugee-protection/canada/processing-eligibility-referral-claims.html#toc1>, at heading "Paragraph A101(1)(a)".
* ↑ Tesfaye v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2024 FC 2040 (CanLII), at para 30, <https://canlii.ca/t/k8d50#par30>, retrieved on 2024-12-17.
* ↑ Tesfaye v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2024 FC 2040 (CanLII), at para 38, <https://canlii.ca/t/k8d50#par38>, retrieved on 2024-12-17.
* ↑ Tesfaye v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2024 FC 2040 (CanLII), at para 31, <https://canlii.ca/t/k8d50#par31>, retrieved on 2024-12-17.
* ↑ Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) v. Zaric, 2015 FC 837 (CanLII), [2016] 1 FCR 407, at para 2, <https://canlii.ca/t/gk8w0#par2>, retrieved on 2024-03-08.