What is the singh decision?

Answer 1

The 1985 Singh decision

The procedural fairness of the inland refugee-determination process was the central focus of the Supreme Court of Canada's landmark decision in Singh v. Minister of Employment and Immigration. Two concurring judgments by Mr Justice Beetz (Estey and McIntyre concurring) and Madame Justice Wilson (Dickson and Lamer concurring), held that denying claimants access to an oral hearing did not meet the standard of procedural fairness required by section 7 of Charter. Wilson J. found that the word 'everyone' in section 7 protected all human beings 'physically present' in Canada, and that security of the person encompassed 'freedom from the threat of physical punishment or suffering, as well as freedom from such punishment itself.' Wilson J also rejected the government's argument that administrative considerations, such as the costs and delays of a more elaborate process, are relevant to the constitional calculus. 'Certainly the guarantees of the Charter would be illusory if they could be ignored because it was administratively convenient to do so.'