One of the more difficult situations we're faced with as members of Parliament when we're making an inquiry on any client is when we're told that a security investigation is going on. I'm at a loss, most of the time, to figure out what it's about. My experience has been that this just delays the case processing a great deal. I think it would certainly help the many families that are trying to be reunited in Canada to have a process that's much more expedient. Just stamping “security” on something, without any kind of oversight, essentially halts the program.
It so happens that I have a request with the minister right now. There's somebody who was married a year ago in India and is trying to get over here. I had the occasion to meet this person in India. She's a school teacher, and I can't for the life of me, from what I know about the case, figure out what, if anything, it has to do with a security situation. Once the stamp goes on, it becomes very difficult, and it really slows the process down.
So yes, we do need security clearances, but given the hardships they cause the individual and the families over here, I think it's something we'd have to make much more efficient.