Brian Paul Goodman (June 2, 1947,

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Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

– June 18, 2013,

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

) was the

Chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB).

History

He trained in law at Osgoode Hall Law School, paying his own way through summer jobs. He was called to the

Bar in 1974. He held a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

Public Law Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...

. In 1983, he joined the Ontario Civil Service. In May 1998, he was appointed to the position of Executive Lead, Agency Reform for Ontario's

Ministry of the Attorney General The Attorney General of Ontario is the chief legal adviser to His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and, by extension, the Government of Ontario. The Attorney General is a senior member of the Executive Council of Ontario (the cabinet) and ...

. In 2001, Goodman was appointed a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, and assigned to the Convention Refugee Determination Division in

. In 2003, he was reappointed to that position. While a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board, he heard the case of

Jeremy Hinzman Jeremy Dean Hinzman (born 1979 in Rapid City, South Dakota) is an Iraq War resister who was the first American deserter to seek refugee status in Canada. He enlisted in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division and desert ...

, a U.S. soldier seeking refugee status in Canada after his refusal to participate in the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. In 2007, Goodman was appointed as chairperson of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. His appointment was initially for four years.News Release
Appointment of Chairperson of Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
;

Citizenship and Immigration Canada Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC; french: Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada)Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program since 2015; the legal title is Departm ...

, June 4, 2007. Retrieved 2013-06-29.

Death

Goodman died suddenly of a cardiac arrhythmia in

on June 18, 2013, aged 66. He was survived by his second wife, Dale Mileris Goodman, their four children (Rachel, Sarah, Daniel, and Patricia), three siblings (Jeff, Stuart and Andy), and a grandson. Goodman was remembered by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney as having led a number of reforms in relation to refugee determination at the Board, including the establishment of a new Refugee Protection Division and a Refugee Appeal Division.Minister Kenney issues statement on the passing of Brian Goodman, Chairperson of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
. News Release, Immigration Canada, June 19, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-26.

References

2013 deaths Lawyers in Ontario Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Canadian Jews 1947 births {{Canada-law-bio-stub