Citizenship and Immigration committee  Pardon me, but it's not a helpful way of framing the problem, and for this reason. I think most of us who are involved in this would like to be able to agree with the officer. It would be easier. That's one thing to say. The other thing I would say as an academic and as somebod

Citizenship and Immigration committee  —and the web page says that this information should never be used in the judicial process. Now, that's not just a case of interpretation.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes, I don't think it's just simple disagreement. We can look at that decision and say yes, that's a good decision; that's right. That's what we would prefer to do.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Some of you alluded to this, but I think this will become more clear the longer you're in Ottawa. With the RAD, I think what is intended is that those appeal judges or members would be appointed. They would not be members of the civil service. After 15 years, I see underlying man

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think sometimes there is a stereotype around this. To speak of the house I live in right now, there are three doctors, a lawyer, and an engineer who specialized in AutoCAD. They all could have come as immigrants easily. They didn't have the time to apply. It isn't as though al

Citizenship and Immigration committee  In response to your question about the just and fair system, I believe we have a myth of innocence as Canadians. Justice Thomas Berger of British Columbia has documented how in times of social stress Canadians become more intolerant than most. During the Second World War, we inte

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'll let the others speak, but I think we have a common understanding. Most of us use the United Church guidelines. We would never go through this unless we had gone to several responsible bodies and considered this case objectively.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think you're getting to the heart of the matter. Sometimes people oppose deficiency in justice, but as I see the present situation it is the inefficiency that is the injustice. You mention all these different avenues, and it's true, but when they actually operate there's a ti

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I guess I thank you for the question. When I spoke to the committee about the safe third country, there were certain things that we predicted, and they have all come true. The numbers of refugees entering Canada have dropped dramatically, some say by 50%; I think it's more. Many

Citizenship and Immigration committee  There's also the fact that the Federal Court only looks at whether the law was applied. It deals with matters of law, not of fact. That's what I mean when I say that there are several avenues but they're fragmented and partial. They don't add up to a whole view of the case that

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Bonjour, mesdames et messieurs. My name is Mary Jo Leddy, and I've been a member of the Ontario Sanctuary Coalition for fifteen years. My remarks will be general, and they will be followed by some very specific remarks by other people. The offer of sanctuary begins as a moment o