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

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, Jun 01 (MARKET WIRE) --
Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney today
announced three designations to the Immigration and Refugee Board of
Canada (IRB).

In the Toronto office, Shari A. Stein was designated Deputy Chairperson
of the Immigration Appeal Division and Hazelyn Ross was designated
Assistant Deputy Chairperson. In the Vancouver office, Ross A. Pattee was
designated Assistant Deputy Chairperson.

Ms. Stein was appointed to the Immigration and Refugee Board on April 17,
2001. She was initially assigned to the Convention Refugee Determination
Division-now Refugee Protection Division-and was transferred to the
Immigration Appeal division on March 16, 2002. On November 20, 2006, Ms.
Stein assumed-on an interim basis-the duties of the Assistant Deputy
Chairperson in the Toronto office. She was designated Assistant Deputy
Chairperson on October 12, 2007. She assumed-on an interim basis-the
duties of the Deputy Chairperson, responsible for the Immigration Appeal
Division, on August 21, 2007.

Ms. Stein began her legal career as Law Clerk to the Chief Justice of the
then High Court of Ontario. She has also worked as legal counsel in the
Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario, as a lawyer with the Advocacy
Resource Centre for the Handicapped, and as a human rights consultant.
Subsequently, she was a senior policy analyst and a project team leader
at the Employment Equity Division in the Management Board Secretariat of
the Province of Ontario. Just prior to her appointment to the IRB, Ms
Stein was a mediator with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario
and a mediator for the mandatory mediation program at the Ministry of the
Attorney General of Ontario.

Ms. Stein received her Bachelor of Arts from McGill University, her
Master of Social Work from the University of British Columbia, and her
Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School at York
University.

Prior to her initial appointment on August 7, 2001, Ms. Ross was a lawyer
with Shepherd Mondrow in Toronto. She has also held a number of positions
in the Government of Ontario where she worked as a law officer intern in
the Ministry of the Attorney General and as a policy development officer
in the Race Relations and Policing Unit in the Ministry of the Solicitor
General and Correctional Services. In addition, Ms. Ross has been a
member in both the Refugee Protection Division and the Immigration Appeal
Division.

Ms. Ross received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of the West
Indies in Barbados and was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1996. Before
earning her law degree, she received her Bachelor of Arts, Honours
Sociology, and her Master of Arts, Educational Technology, from Concordia
University in Montreal.

Prior to his initial appointment and assignment to the Refugee Protection
Division on July 18, 2005, Mr. Pattee worked for the Insurance
Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) where he held senior management
positions with the Special Investigations Unit and Corporate
Communications and was Corporate Counsel. Prior to ICBC, M. Pattee worked
in private practice with a large national law firm.

Ross Pattee received his Bachelor of Arts and his Bachelor of Laws from
Queen's University. He was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1989 and 1992
in British Columbia.

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
Alykhan Velshi
Minister's Office
Alykhan.Velshi@cic.gc.ca

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

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