The complainant in this matter is the sibling of a refugee protection claimant who appeared before the Immigration and Refugee Board's (IRB) Refugee Protection Division (RPD). The complaint was submitted by way of the IRB Office of Integrity's generic email address. The complaint was considered by the Office of Integrity under the Procedure for Making a Complaint Against a Member (the Procedures).
The basis for the complaint is that the refugee protection claimant was not given a fair hearing, and that the member was biased in their decision-making because of a medical condition that the claimant suffered from in the past and did not disclose to Canadian officials in a visa application. The non-disclosure of that condition led the member (in part) to find the claimant not credible. The claim for refugee protection was rejected by the member.
The complainant was informed by the Acting Chairperson that the complaint process is strictly intended to address a member's conduct and not their decision. The Procedure specifically excludes consideration of complaints related to allegations of bias. These are adjudicative matters that should be dealt with by the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) or the Federal Court (as applicable).
The complaint was dismissed as it was not within the scope of the Procedures.