I won't be. I have very few other comments left.
We sent this legislation to committee after we approved it at second reading because we wanted to work with the government to fix this piece of legislation so that it would achieve the intent of removing serious violent offenders. However, we need to address the lack of training, resources, and integration of information and monitoring technologies within the responsible public service agencies. The vast majority of newcomers to Canada are law-abiding people who want to build better lives for themselves and their families. We hope this committee can move on and spend more effort making sure that they are treated fairly, have the resources they need, and can be reunited with their families.
We ask for the support of all committee members for our first amendment. We believe it is a modest amendment to this clause, which creates an obligation for foreign nationals to appear for a CSIS interview if directed by an officer. The intent of this amendment is to limit the requirement of foreign nationals to answer questions at a requested CSIS interview to questions relevant to the actual application.
In his testimony to this committee, Lorne Waldman, representing the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, said:
I don't think it's a bad idea that if CSIS officers are going to conduct interviews, they be given the authority to do so. My concern, however, is that when you embark upon this road, you have to realize that it's unprecedented to give CSIS officers the power to compel people to answer questions, because they've never had that power, and it's inconsistent with their role, some would say, as intelligence officers.
The brief we received from the Canadian Bar Association also raises concerns about the obligation to attend a CSIS interview. In it they say:
An unfettered obligation to answer queries from CSIS could in many cases be deeply problematic, as an individual could be placed in the unenviable position of having a legal obligation to provide information about others with no relevance to their own immigration application.
We agree with Mr. Waldman that if CSIS interviews are already being required in some cases, without a legislative framework, it is appropriate for this to be added to this bill. However, we share his concerns, as well as those of the CBA, about how this clause could be applied.
We would respectfully ask for the support of committee members to amend this clause so that these CSIS interviews have clearly defined parameters.
