Why was the public policy provision removed from the H&C provisions?
The new legislation separates out the use of public policies and H&C decisions because they are two very different options. In H&C applications, decisions are made on a case-by-case basis by a single decision maker and must be justifiable on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Public policies facilitate processing for a large number of individuals who meet the same general criteria, and they are established by the Minister. Public policies may be justifiable on national interest grounds or on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
