Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to speak to Motion No. 126 as proposed by the hon. member for Calgary Northeast. This motion advocates that the federal and provincial governments co-operate in order to limit the social assistance available to failed refugee claimants who are remaining in Canada to make appeals to the courts and to transfer the onus of providing further assistance to these individuals to immigrant and refugee aid societies and other organizations.
I understand the hon. member's concerns regarding the strains our social assistance programs are under. In this time of fiscal austerity and deficit reduction it is important to find ways to maintain the institutions which are truly important to our society.
In many respects our social welfare system shows that Canadians care about offering a helping hand to those in need. This commitment is also evident in the way we treat refugees and refugee claimants. For decades Canada has opened is arms to people who have fled from terror and repression around the world. As Canadians we have an obligation to not look away.
As signatories of the Geneva convention on refugees we pledged to do our part as good international citizens. This is a responsibility I am proud to say we continue and we shall continue to meet.
We must be vigilant and not tinker with our refugee system in a needless or careless fashion. To suggest that we should take punitive measures against individuals who are not found to be convention refugees is a little misguided. I agree with the hon. member that we should not tolerate people who would abuse our system, but acting rashly or in a draconian manner is not the way to deal with that problem. There are people who do not fit the strict definition of a refugee but who are nonetheless in need of our assistance.
I think the hon. member is ignoring this group. He is simply implying that all failed refugee claimants are somehow charlatans or criminals seeking to capitalize on our generosity. This simply is not the case. There are some people who do not fit the strict convention refugee definition but who still deserve to have their cases examined as a humanitarian consideration. It would be distinctly un-Canadian to punish these people who have already experienced great suffering.
The definition of a convention refugee is very specific. Some individuals may find themselves in a refugee like situation but will still not qualify to be protected as refugees. As a compassionate country we should keep an eye open for these special cases. While it is important that the refugee determination process be governed by strict rules, it is equally necessary to have some flexibility and room for compassion. I am glad to say that our system allows us this latitude.
We have some mechanisms in place which help ensure that failed refugee claimants who are in genuine trouble do not slip through the cracks. There are instances in which a person, though not technically a refugee, may face torture or violence if they go home. We have a moral obligation to see that does not happen.
Moreover, there is also the potential for humanitarian and compassionate review of a claimant's application should the claimant feel that their case merits special attention due to extenuating circumstances. We should continue to be vigilant about finding and removing people who do not merit our humanitarian consideration. We should not let people linger in the system for long periods of time.
The key is not to punish people for using the system. Instead we need to ensure that the system works effectively and can process refugee claimants rapidly. Yes, there will always be those creative minds who create ways to financially benefit from any rule and regulation established by any level of government. We recognize that.
The Department of Citizenship and Immigration has recently proposed changes that will protect the integrity of the system while at the same time speeding up the rate at which claims are processed. Bill C-49, for instance, proposes to reduce refugee division panels from two members to one. This will allow the IRB to schedule hearings more quickly and will permit it to render faster decisions.
The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration recently introduced proposed regulatory changes intended to streamline the risk assessment process for failed refugee claimants. Currently risk assessments are automatically made to ensure that failed refugee claimants will not be at risk if they return to their home country. Often this assessment is nothing more than a time consuming formality at great expense which is not even requested by the client. We have changed that and under the proposed changes the risk review will no longer be automatic. Instead failed refugee claimants will have to apply. This does not change our humanitarian commitment to people who are genuinely in need. This will simply ensure that appropriate risk reviews are done quickly and efficiently.
These changes will exclude certain groups such as those convicted of serious criminal offences. This will allow the government
to continue helping legitimate refugees and removing people who do not need or deserve our protection.
We must be vigilant to ensure that individuals who are found not to be convention refugees are treated fairly and with compassion. We have programs that do just that. We must continually look for positive ways to improve the good system we already have.
However, the motion before the House simply does not offer a constructive or workable solution. It fails to balance compassion with common sense. It fails to strike that fair and just balance which is a hallmark of our refugee determination system.