Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Canada Minister Jason Kenney has appointed new members to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB), two of which are members of the Indo-Canadian community. Vandana Patel and Noeline Sujuthra Paul were appointed to the Toronto,Ontario office of the IRB.

The IRB is an independent administrative tribunal that reports to the Canadian Parliament, and has three divisions:

• The Refugee Protection Division, which makes decisions on refugee claims made by persons in Canada;
• The Immigration Appeal Division, which hears appeals on immigration matters; and
• The Immigration Division, which conducts hearings on inadmissibility issues as well as detention reviews for people detained under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Patel has more than ten years of legal and human rights experience and is a member of the Law Society of Canada. She has served as a legal officer for both the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration.

Paul has worked as a Case Manager at WorkSafeBC in Richmond, British Columbia and served as a board director for Defence for Children International Canada.