Summary: Baker V. Canada

Baker v Canada [Minister of Citizenship and Immigration], [1999] explains the importance of “the best interest of child” in Canada Immigration proceedings. Mavis Baker, a Jamaican woman entered Canada as a visitor in August of 1981, after the expiration of her visitor’s visa, Ms. Baker lived illegally in Canada as a live-in-worker to support herself and children for 11years. Though, Ms. Baker had four children in Jamaica before visiting Canada, she however gave birth to four other children in Canada namely, Paul Brown, 1985, twins Patricia and Peter Robinson, 1989 and Desmond Robinson, 1992. Following the birth of her last child, Ms. Baker was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after suffering an attack of post-partum psychosis. Her illness
Baker emphasized that the immigration officer’s notes, where she was described as a Catastrophy gave rise to a reasonable Apprehension of Bias. The court agreed that the immigration officer who wrote the above notes was biased and that this affected his final decision.

Also, under Canada Immigration program, procedural fairness is the process whereby immigration officer follow a processing guidelines, if followed appropriately, officer will meet the objectives of immigration policy and comply with the mandate, principles and vision of the international region. Procedural fairness requires immigration officer to make decisions free from a reasonable apprehension of bias.

According to the Committee of the Rights of the Child “Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the view of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly or through a representative or an appropriate body in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national
Baker, moving the case further, the supreme court of Canada reversed the decision, it stated that procedural fairness expected the immigration officer to consider the human rights of the appellant children in decision making.

At the Supreme Court, Ms. Baker arguments was on the application of fairness in the exercise of executive discretion, she stated further that the immigration officer’s decisions exhibited a reasonable apprehension of bias and argued further that the policy of Committee on the Rights of the Child must be bidding on immigration officers when performing their duties especially in using their authority and taking discretion under the Act.

In conclusion, Ms. Baker [through her lawyer] was so courageous at the Supreme Court, she upheld the fact that the interest of her four Canadian-born children should be considered. Eventually, the law turned in her favor, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the importance of valuing the rights, needs and interest of children in decisions affecting them, and this decisions represent an important advance in the development of Canadian immigration proceedings especially where the interest of the child is at