Gordon Fairweather.....

.....is turning in his grave, as Trudeau announced another $27 million in legal aid funding for refugee claimants.  When formed 30 years ago, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) was a quasi-judicial entity mandated to determine if a claimant was, or was not, a refugee as per accepted UN criteria.

"This process is not to be lawyer-driven," said Mr. Fairweather adamantly at the first member-training session held in Ottawa.  What a laugh that all seems today!  The reason I know all this is because B was the first Director of Training for the IRB and responsible for the edification of all members.  And although political appointments by Mulroney, they were not made without merit because each member had relevant background and experience.  No one was a flake -- well, maybe one or two.  But I digress.

The other driving principle was that there was to be no appeal.  Were a claimant rejected, he/she was out of the country.  I remember when B came home one day and reported that one claimant had arrived with a lawyer.  He was dismayed.  Well, that was the beginning of the end and it's been all downhill for Canada since and uphill for the lawyers and refugees who have dined out on that folly since. 

So, folks, now you know.  I mean, why have an IRB with competent members if the courts ultimately rule on decisions?  Just another dumb political move.