The Exercise of Ministerial Discretion and Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds

This joint session of the Administrative Law Section and Citizenship and Immigration Law Section explores issues related to the exercise of ministerial discretion through the example of “humanitarian and compassionate grounds” in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. This is an unusual statutory notion in that it essentially embeds an emotion – compassion – as its object. Through this lens, this session will also explore broader administrative law themes, including the standard of reasonableness, as well as the ongoing debate in Federal Court jurisprudence as to whether humanitarian and compassionate grounds require the application of an “exceptional circumstances” test.