Public Safety committee  I think it's really similar to the previous amendment that placed temporal parameters around the estimation of the criminal activity. All I can say again is that it would be consistent with parole decision-making, which places a temporal constraint around the time period.

Public Safety committee  I can only speak from our experience in administering this act. If a person has dual citizenship, neither citizenship trumps the other. It is a question of analyzing the person's background in terms of where they have the most personal contacts or have lived most of their life. I have seen a Canadian who committed a crime in Canada, and who also had British citizenship, being transferred to the U.K.

Public Safety committee  Yes. On the statistical issue, Mr. Churney and Ms. Keryluk advise that Mr. MacKenzie's numbers are roughly the correct proportion in terms of our best estimate of the number of Canadians incarcerated abroad, because of course some Canadians don't make themselves known to officials.

Public Safety committee  That has not been my experience. We do have a few cases annually of people with dual citizenship. It's a fairly small number. We look at the facts of the case. If they have dual citizenship, we look at where their ties are strongest, perhaps, as opposed to one citizenship trumping another.

Public Safety committee  I have a couple of points of information. In terms of the judicial reviews to date and where the government or the courts have ruled, I think the figures that we gave at a previous session were that six applications for judicial review were dismissed, which means the government was successful, and in four cases the applications were granted.

Public Safety committee  With respect, Mr. Kania, I might just jump in. It is circumscribed by the case law, and the case law has been quite clear that in fact decisions have to be made considering relevant factors and, indeed, not completely irrelevant or factors such as hair colour or eye colour.

Public Safety committee  Well, the only comment I think I can make is that, from an adviser's perspective, basket clauses are not unusual. It's not at all strange to have such a clause, and it is always circumscribed by rational connections, relevant connections. I think really, just to emphasize Mr. Laprade's point, with an expanded list that reflects the case law to date and the provision of a clause that allows potentially for new factors that perhaps have not yet arisen, and every case presents something slightly different that is beyond imagination--

Public Safety committee  I'm not sure that I can answer that. I think it is more of a legal question at this point.

Public Safety committee  I would just point out that the other provisions of the act continue to apply. If the minister were to deny a case using (l) and using a factor that others considered questionable, the minister would be obligated to provide written reasons to an applicant where a denial is issued.

Public Safety committee  If I may say this, if in making a decision, the minister considers--very hypothetically--hair colour, and that was the basis for denying a transfer, that would be communicated openly and transparently to the individual, and the individual can take whatever action they choose to take.

Public Safety committee  I can't recall, and I wouldn't be in a position to discuss advice that was provided to the minister or cabinet.

Public Safety committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be very brief and then turn it over to Mr. Laprade, who is legal counsel, to speak specifically to “may” versus “shall”. Obviously this is a list of factors that is longer than what appears in the current act. In part, this was an effort to reflect the case law that has developed and to reflect the scope of the minister's discretion that has been accepted or validated by the courts.

Public Safety committee  Based on the statistics we've been given, that would appear to be the case.

Public Safety committee  I think that's roughly correct, yes.

Public Safety committee  Yes.