moved for leave to introduce Bill C-433, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (appeals).
Madam Speaker, it is an honour to introduce this bill which takes a step toward ending the systemic discrimination against persons living with disabilities that now exists within our Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
I want to thank the member for Sault Ste. Marie for seconding the bill and also for his ongoing work in helping people with disabilities overcome such discrimination.
The act currently prohibits on a regular basis people living with disabilities to become immigrants. It suggests that those with disabilities impose some sort of excessive demand on our society which by its very nature is inherently discriminatory.
This bill simply says there should be an appeal for people living with a disability who have applied for immigration but have been turned down to appeal that decision and to prove that they have abilities that ought to be recognized and that in fact they will not pose an excessive demand on our society.
Even though Canada signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, applicants themselves are living with certain disabilities or family members with disabilities currently can be turned away without any appeal process. This bill allows for an appeal process that would give these applicants a chance to show that their abilities outweigh our prejudices.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)