Citizenship and Immigration Committee on May 2nd, 2007

[Clark Goodman]

Thank you.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

What's the number for the case processing centre in Sydney, if people want to call from overseas?

[Clark Goodman]

For—?

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

People want to call CPC Sydney.

[Clark Goodman]

I'm not sure.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Is it 902-564-3300?

[Clark Goodman]

I believe that when people have questions about their status, they should be going to the missions.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

But if they want to call from overseas, is the number 902-564-3300?

Okay.

The last question that I have, Mr. Chair, is why is Melba Heffron not responding to faxes and e-mails that are sent by clients, and why is she not here? She's the person who looks after these cases. A fax was sent to her by Joe Taylor years ago, and I sent her a copy of his fax. Why is she not responding?

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

A very brief response, please; we're at the six minutes here.

[Clark Goodman]

To respond to why Melba isn't here today, Melba is the primary caregiver at home and she was unable to travel to Ottawa.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Okay, thank you.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

But that's—

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Order, please. You're over six minutes, so you'll have to pick it up on the next round.

Mr. Gravel.

[Raymond Gravel, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

I have a question and a comment.

Mr. Davidson, in your document, you say that we cannot stand in judgment of legislation enacted in 1947; those were the laws. Although what you say may be true, we know that they make no sense today for Canadians who are lost because of marriage or parents.

So, why is it taking so much time to resolve these problems? If these people lost their citizenship because of such legislation, could we not bypass the system and restore their Canadian citizenship to them? This would save time and avoid unnecessary expenses and drama. We're talking about human beings.

My comment is that you may speak in French. We have interpretation in both languages, and you are public servants in a country that is supposed to be bilingual.

[Mark Davidson]

Mr. Chair, the reason why these cases are out there is because of decisions that were made by Parliament for the 1947 act, and also in 1977. As bureaucrats, our responsibility as civil servants is to implement the legislation that we have. The minister had indicated to the committee that she was looking for advice from the committee on how to solve those legislative problems. And obviously, as civil servants as well, we're looking forward to any advice the committee may give to the minister on how to resolve those problems.

We are taking advantage of the mechanism we do have that Parliament has given to the minister and the Governor in Council to resolve these cases. That mechanism is contained in subsection 5(4) of the Citizenship Act.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Thank you.

[Raymond Gravel, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

If I were a lost Canadian and I came to your office, would you speak to me in English, if I spoke to you in French?

[Mark Davidson]

Yes, but what can I say? I can understand and respond in English and French. It's a question of choice.

[Raymond Gravel, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

I wouldn't know that to listen to you, sir.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

First, do you have a legal department at the Department of Citizenship and Immigration? A legal department is a group of lawyers with the mandate to advise public servants and the department, who in turn advise the minister. Is there one?

[Mark Davidson]

Eric, would you like to address this?

[Eric Stevens, Legal Counsel, Legal Services, Department of Citizenship and Immigration]

We certainly have a legal service unit within Citizenship and Immigration, Department of Justice lawyers there who can provide advice to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration on citizenship matters.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

The legislation goes back to 1945 and 1977. I find it difficult to believe that your legal experts are not able to eliminate this problem and draft new legislation.

[Raymond Gravel, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

That was done.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

If it was done, it was done badly. I have not attended all the meetings, but I fail to understand why no one in your legal department is able to advise you. If the Department of Justice is involved, we will ask the Department of Justice questions.