Citizenship and Immigration committee  My understanding is that the interview within eight days is done in a single step. The meeting happens Tuesday afternoon, and it ends there. It lasts an hour, an hour and a half or however long, but with the form, the deadline can be up to 28 days. I know certain lawyers who meet

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The eligibility interview should, in theory, take place in a neutral setting, but that is not what I have seen. I am concerned that the same thing would happen with the information-gathering interview. The official gathering the information can be subjective, can omit something o

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Well, if an interview were used, I would want it to be recorded and a verbatim record to be given to all three parties: the interviewer would keep a copy for the government, the claimant would keep a copy for themselves and the decision-maker could also receive a copy. After hav

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Two months is too short. For some people, two months is not enough time to gather all the identification documents required for a board member to grant them protection. I, too, have accompanied a lot of people to the Immigration and Refugee Board, and the matter of the person's

Citizenship and Immigration committee  We have seen people who were accepted based on humanitarian grounds. They are people who probably would have been accepted if there had been an appeal.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  In my view, with the bill, we are talking about two extremes. The average is currently 18 months, which is incredibly long. I see the toll those 18 months take on the people we follow and who stay in contact with us. The impact is quite dramatic. Some people become deeply depress

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I would like to say something before I come back to the question about the eight days. You mentioned the possibility of making an amendment that sets out a time frame of 15 days. You even said 20 days. Right now, people have to submit the Personal Information Form, or PIF, within

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I am pleased to be making our presentation alongside a representative from Romero House, one of our partners in Toronto. Mr. Chair, honourable members of the committee, ladies and gentlemen, we are here today representing the Montreal City Mission, which is now celebrating its 1