BakerRevisited 2007

Abstract

A landmark case in Canadian administrative law, Baker set new standards for the review of administrative discretion and the content of the duty of procedural fairness. Baker's stipulations regarding procedural fairness, the duty to give reasons, and the requirement for decision makers to be alive to the best interests of children gave many Canadians a sense of hope that all immigrants seeking legal status— including those with Canadian-born children—would at least receive a fair consideration of their cases before being removed from Canada. Unfortunately, Baker created expectations that have not been fulfilled. The Supreme Court of Canada's failure to address the racism permeating Baker is symptomatic of the larger problem of Canadian society's ongoing failure to come to terms with the reality of systemic anti-Black discrimination. Black people cannot rely on the courts alone to put an end to systemic discrimination. The solution to this challenge may ultimately be political.