Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to thank the committee for having invited departmental officials from Citizenship and Immigration to speak to you on the issue you are studying, that is to say Bill C-280, an Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
As you stated, Mr. Chairman, I am accompanied today by Ms. Micheline Aucoin, Director General, Refugees Branch, and by Mr. Eric Stevens from the department's Legal Services Branch.
The committee is aware of the subjects of concern to the government as far as Bill C-280 is concerned. The committee also knows that the government opposes the bill. We are here to answer procedural questions, for example concerning the necessary preparations for the implementation of a schedule, and questions related to the transition.
At Citizenship and Immigration Canada, we are very proud of our Canadian refugee determination system. It is often described as being one of the best in the world, including by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. There is no doubt that Canada respects its international commitments and the requirements of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and that it even goes beyond that. Canadians can be proud of their humanitarian tradition.
Let me begin by drawing your attention to the fact sheet entitled “Refugee Appeal Division” that the department tabled at this committee in December of last year. In that document, we discussed the many opportunities that refugee claimants currently have to show why they should not be removed from Canada.
First, they have access to the refugee protection division of the Immigration and Refugee Board, where independent, well-trained, well-informed decision-makers hear the claimants' stories and review the information put forward to support that story.
Second, claimants have access to the pre-removal risk assessment, where they can put forward any new information that has not been considered by the IRB. Well-trained, well-informed public servants ensure that individuals are not returned for persecution, torture, or death.
Third, failed refugee claimants can apply to stay in Canada for humanitarian and compassionate reasons, including reasons of risk. Refugee claimants can and do make such applications, and many are accepted. About half of applicants for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds—H and C, for brevity—are failed refugee claimants. The general H and C acceptance rate is 50%.
Fourth, refused refugee claimants can apply for a judicial review of that decision. The Federal Court review involves a full paper review of the IRB decision on grounds of fact and law, much like the refugee appeal division as proposed in Bill C-280.
The Federal Court can send and has sent cases back to the IRB based on patently unreasonable errors in findings of fact in a range of cases, including on issues relating to the claimant's credibility, assessing medical evidence, gender persecution claims, as well as the availability of police protection and country conditions.
I would like now to turn to some of the technical issues that are raised by Bill C-280.
The first issue has already been raised by Jean-Guy Fleury, the former chair of the IRB, when he appeared before this committee in December 2004. He advised that the board would require approximately one year to establish a fully operational refugee appeal division. I believe this lead time to be optimistic.
While the IRB is here to testify later this morning, there are a number of issues worth identifying. Board members with a different competency in hearing appeals than is currently the case would need to be assigned to the RAD, or appointed. Finding members and training them will take time. As well, a new set of rules establishing the procedures and conduct of a new division would need to be created. The IRB would also need to locate office space, set up systems for applications to be made, and establish case management technologies to implement the RAD. Resources would need to be identified even to begin such a process.
The second group of issues relate to the lack of transitional provisions in Bill C-280, which raises a number of questions. Who would be eligible for this new appeal? Would it apply to old cases, since the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act came into force in 2002, or only to new ones? What would be the rule for cases currently before the Federal Court? Who would hear cases sent back by the court: the refugee protection division or the refugee appeal division? What are the risks of saddling the new appeal division with a large backlog, which would cause further delays? These are issues that could have serious consequences, if Bill C-280 is enacted into law.
In the fact sheet the department tabled in December, we indicated that the addition of the refugee appeal division would add at least another five months to the already long refugee process. This is based on the assumption that the RAD would be given a fresh start without a backlog on day one and that it would be implemented with a full set of trained decision-makers already in place. Should this not be the case, these delays could stretch to many more months.
I would also point out that among the unproclaimed provisions of IRPA is a section, section 73, that ensures that the government could appeal any decisions of the refugee appeal division. This section does not form part of Bill C-280. Just as failed claimants have access to the Federal Court, so should the Minister of Immigration.
Thank you for your time listening to me. We welcome your questions.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.