In Canada, a security certificate is a legal mechanism by which the Canadian government can detain and deport permanent residents and all other non-citizens (i.e., foreign nationals) living in Canada. It is authorized within the parameters of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA; which replaced the Immigration Act, 1976), specifically sections 33 and 77 to 85. It was amended and took on its present structure in 1991, with an additional amendment in 2002. According to Public Safety Canada, the overarching agency dealing with the law, the security certificate provision has existed in "one form or another for over 20 years." Its use has been documented at least as far back as 1979, the year after they were implemented. Since 1991, only 27 individuals have been subject to certifica