I have to admit that I'm new to this committee. I'm very honoured to have the opportunity to serve. I was first elected in 2004 and re-elected last time around. My largely rural riding seemed untouched by immigration problems. However, I've observed that my riding offices have received several requests of this nature. Yesterday, a group of people met with me and several others to talk about their desperate situation.
Minister, could your department possibly provide us with some statistics on the number of people who have been denied their refugee claim?At present, the only recourse available to these individuals is an appeal to the Federal Court. They can request a judicial review or apply to remain in the country on humanitarian grounds. For example, over the last three years, how many refugees have filed appeals and how many of these appeals were filed by the same individual? At the same time, can you tell me how much it costs to process a review application or an application filed on humanitarian grounds?
Perhaps we could then determine if any savings are to be realized and if these could go toward the establishment of an appeals section.