Minister Kenney announces appointments to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

April 27, 2009

Ottawa, April 27, 2009 — Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney today announced four full-time appointments to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB).

Kashi Mattu was appointed for a three-year term in the Vancouver office. Pasquale Fiorino, Carolyne Wedgbury and Andrea Wojtak were each appointed for three-year terms in the Toronto office. These appointments were made in accordance with the IRB’s merit-based appointment process.

Minister Kenney is committed to delivering on his pledge to fill vacancies on the IRB. Since October 2008, the Minister has made 33 appointments and eight reappointments to assist the Board in reaching its full complement.

Prior to her appointment, Ms. Mattu was a hearings officer with the Canada Border Services Agency. She has also held positions with the IRB as a senior advisor and coach, as an implementation coordinator, and as a member of the Board. Ms. Mattu received a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of British Columbia.

Mr. Fiorino was the Executive Director of Amherstburg Community Service as well as a professor at the Faculty of Church History of the Iona College, University of Windsor, prior to his appointment to the Board. He has also held the position of Executive Director of the Diocesan Regional Offices of Windsor and Essex. Mr. Fiorino received a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Windsor. He also received a Master of Divinity from the University of Western Ontario and a Doctorate in Church History from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.

Ms. Wedgbury was most recently a teacher with the Upper Grand District School Board. She has also served as a teacher with the Peel Board of Education, the American School of Rio de Janeiro, and the Etobicoke Board of Education. Ms. Wedgbury received a Bachelor of Arts from Sir Wilfrid Laurier University and her Ontario Teaching Certificate from the University of Toronto.

Ms. Wojtak was a drug control and crime prevention officer with the Organized Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Unit of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Austria prior to her appointment to the Board. She has also worked as a legal officer/anti-human trafficking coordinator with the International Prosecutor’s Office of the Department of Justice, United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo. Ms. Wojtak received a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Ontario. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1997.

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.