Evidence of meeting #29 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was federal.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Raymond Guénette  Acting Chief Administrator, Office of the Chief Adminsitrator, Courts Administration Service, Federal Court of Canada
Wayne Garnons-Williams  Acting Registrar, Registry Branch, Courts Administration Service, Federal Court of Canada
John Frecker  President, Legistec Inc.
Clerk of the Committee  Mr. William Farrell
Jennifer Bird  Committee Researcher

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Andrew Telegdi Liberal Kitchener—Waterloo, ON

Essentially you multiply it by 6,000, so that would give us a figure of something like $7 million.

9:20 a.m.

Acting Chief Administrator, Office of the Chief Adminsitrator, Courts Administration Service, Federal Court of Canada

Raymond Guénette

Not $7 million.

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Andrew Telegdi Liberal Kitchener—Waterloo, ON

It costs $1,277 a case. Yes, something like $7.6 million, $7.7 million in total.

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Blair Wilson Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC

At $1,200 a case, yes.

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Andrew Telegdi Liberal Kitchener—Waterloo, ON

Yes, $7.6 million, and that doesn't include the cost for the judges themselves.

9:20 a.m.

Acting Chief Administrator, Office of the Chief Adminsitrator, Courts Administration Service, Federal Court of Canada

Raymond Guénette

That's correct. I did not figure out the judicial costs in that.

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Andrew Telegdi Liberal Kitchener—Waterloo, ON

Could we get some kind of figure from you as to how much time the judges spend on it, what's the percentage of their time, and what the cost would be? I guess one could divide and go from there.

9:20 a.m.

Acting Chief Administrator, Office of the Chief Adminsitrator, Courts Administration Service, Federal Court of Canada

Raymond Guénette

I could certainly look into it and report back to the committee.

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Andrew Telegdi Liberal Kitchener—Waterloo, ON

That would very much be appreciated.

9:20 a.m.

Acting Chief Administrator, Office of the Chief Adminsitrator, Courts Administration Service, Federal Court of Canada

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Andrew Telegdi Liberal Kitchener—Waterloo, ON

The other issue is you're dealing with deadlines, and the ability of people to file and provide information on time on what the judicial review is going to be based on. If somebody comes up with new evidence outside of the timeframe, does that get considered?

9:20 a.m.

Acting Chief Administrator, Office of the Chief Adminsitrator, Courts Administration Service, Federal Court of Canada

Raymond Guénette

There's always a provision for you to apply for an extension of time for filing certain documents.

December 12th, 2006 / 9:20 a.m.

Wayne Garnons-Williams Acting Registrar, Registry Branch, Courts Administration Service, Federal Court of Canada

As a point of clarification, you are correct, sir, in the sense that no new evidence may be considered in a judicial review.

9:20 a.m.

Acting Chief Administrator, Office of the Chief Adminsitrator, Courts Administration Service, Federal Court of Canada

Raymond Guénette

But they can still apply for an extension of time at any step of the way, if they're out of time.

9:20 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle

You will probably want to conclude there, Mr. Telegdi--or should I move on?

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Andrew Telegdi Liberal Kitchener—Waterloo, ON

No, that's fine. If we could receive the information I asked for, that would be great.

Thank you.

9:20 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle

Thank you.

Madame Faille.

9:20 a.m.

Bloc

Meili Faille Bloc Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC

I thank Andrew for his very good questions.

Generally speaking, when leave is granted to attend the Federal Court, how much time goes by before an application is processed? What is the timeline?

9:20 a.m.

Acting Chief Administrator, Office of the Chief Adminsitrator, Courts Administration Service, Federal Court of Canada

Raymond Guénette

As far as I know, it takes between 30 to 90 days.

9:20 a.m.

Bloc

Meili Faille Bloc Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC

It is rather quick, then.

9:20 a.m.

Acting Chief Administrator, Office of the Chief Adminsitrator, Courts Administration Service, Federal Court of Canada

Raymond Guénette

Yes, it is rather quick. These files do not linger or remain unchecked, they are processed rather quickly.

9:20 a.m.

Bloc

Meili Faille Bloc Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC

Therefore, after three months, an application is reviewed, which may take between four to six months. Is this correct?

9:20 a.m.

Acting Chief Administrator, Office of the Chief Adminsitrator, Courts Administration Service, Federal Court of Canada

Raymond Guénette

No, the entire process from beginning to end may take between four to six months maximum.

9:20 a.m.

Bloc

Meili Faille Bloc Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC

Okay.

Earlier, you said that it cost about $1,277.43 per case, correct?

9:20 a.m.

Acting Chief Administrator, Office of the Chief Adminsitrator, Courts Administration Service, Federal Court of Canada

Raymond Guénette

Yes, for each case.