Coming into force on 28 June 2002, the Act created a high-level framework detailing the goals and guidelines the Canadian government has set with regard to immigration to Canada by foreign residents.
The Act also sprouted controversy regarding the government's failure to implement a component of the legislation that would have established a Refugee Appeal Division as part of Canada's immigration system.
The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, who oversees agencies such as the CBSA, is responsible for administrating the Act as it relates to examinations at ports of entry (POEs); enforcement, including arrests, detentions, removals, and policy establishment; and inadmissibility on the grounds of security, organized criminality, or violation of international rights (incl.
In the 2007 case of Charkaoui v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration),[5] Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin held that certain aspects of the scheme contained within the Act for the detention of permanent residents and foreign nationals on the grounds of national security violate s. 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by "allowing the issuance of a certificate of inadmissibility based on secret material without providing for an independent agent at the stage of judicial review to better protect the named person’s interests.
"[6] The Government of Canada responded by introducing a revised security certificate regime in the Act that includes the use of special advocates to review a summary of the evidence without being able to share this information with the accused.