Minister Kenney Announces Appointment to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, Mar 30 (MARKET WIRE) --
Robert Bafaro has been appointed to a three-year term in the Toronto
office of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), Citizenship,
Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.

With this appointment, and the 28 appointments and eight reappointments
the Minister has made since he became Minister of Citizenship,
Immigration, and Multiculturalism in October 2008, the Board now stands
at close to 90 percent of its full complement.

This appointment of Mr. Bafaro was made in accordance with the IRB's
merit-based appointment process.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Bafaro was a partner in a not-for-profit
real estate investing organisation and was responsible for its promotion,
advertising and marketing. He has also served as a legal
advisor/litigator in the Immigration Section of the Department of Justice
and held several positions with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the
most recent being Hearings Officer, Regional War Crimes Unit. In
addition, he has worked as a Refugee Claim Officer with the IRB. Mr.
Bafaro received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto as well
as a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Windsor.

Created in 1989, the IRB is an independent administrative tribunal that
reports to Parliament through the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration
and Multiculturalism. The Board has three divisions-the Refugee
Protection Division, the Immigration Appeal Division, and the Immigration
Division.

The IRB determines refugee protection claims made in Canada, hears
immigration appeals, and conducts admissibility hearings and detention
reviews.

Contacts:
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Minister's Office
Alykhan Velshi
Alykhan.Velshi@cic.gc.ca

Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Media Relations Unit
Communications Branch
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca

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