Evidence of meeting #42 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was backlog.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:05 p.m.
Chair, Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants
I take issue with the fact that--
5:05 p.m.
Chair, Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants
Are you directing the question?
5:05 p.m.
Chair, Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants
I would like to respond to that.
5:05 p.m.
NDP
5:05 p.m.
Head, Immigration Law Group, Perley-Robertson, Hill and McDougall LLP
My answer is going to be consistent with Lorne Waldman's answer to a similar question, which is that the backlog grew so big and got so out of control and became so expensive to manage that....
The government has for years been criticized by every opposition party, every practitioner, every intending immigrant or family member who wanted to be reunited--industry sectors and so on. They had to do something. But they've used a very draconian piece of legislation, which we're unaccustomed to in Canada, to centralize a lot of power in the minister and his or her officials to achieve something that's very totalitarian, that concentrates power outside the scope of Parliament and accountability by stakeholders like us.
It's just beyond the pale, really, is what it comes to. Why? Because they think they can get away with it in a budget.
5:05 p.m.
Immigration Lawyer, As an Individual
It's a political decision that's being played out on the backs of immigrants. It's clear.
The government knows that the newly arriving immigrant community has traditionally been a constituency of the Liberal Party, and they're daring the Liberals to vote against it. That's what this is really about. It's shameful, because it's being played out primarily on the backs of people who are outside of Canada and really don't vote on the matter, and on people who are newly arrived in Canada. These are the people who will suffer for what's being played out as a political game, if you will.
5:05 p.m.
Chair, Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I think in fairness, this backlog--or fore-log, whatever you want to call it--has been around as long as I have been around. The last government tried to deal with it using pools and streams, which was the effort that essentially brought in many of the measures before you today. Similar things were considered.
The fact of the matter is that from our perspective, the Government of Canada has to have the ability to manage its inventory, manage the number of people coming to Canada. There's a finite number of people who can come into the country. We agree with the minister on that point.
We are very concerned that those individuals.... And I've seen them personally, having worked for nine years in Beijing. Day in and day out, these people came in and out of my office complaining that they couldn't get answers from the embassy, using me as a representative. They couldn't get answers from the embassy. They were being victimized by rogue agents and rogue consultants in China, India, and other places in the world, simply because of the inefficient system we have here.
The Australians and New Zealanders have made changes. The U.K. persons are about to make similar changes to--
5:10 p.m.
NDP
Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON
But how does this bill actually deal with inefficiencies and making it more productive?
5:10 p.m.
Chair, Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants
By creating efficiencies through amending the process, it will allow us to get at that backlog. That's my opinion.
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
May 12th, 2008 / 5:10 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Komarnicki Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I appreciate the comments that have been made.
Mr. Creates, would you agree with me that the legislation, Bill C-50, relating to the immigration portion will have to stand the test of the charter--it will either be charter-compliant or not--but that in order to be effective, it would need to be charter-compliant? Would you agree with that?
5:10 p.m.
Head, Immigration Law Group, Perley-Robertson, Hill and McDougall LLP
Is the question to me?
5:10 p.m.
Head, Immigration Law Group, Perley-Robertson, Hill and McDougall LLP
Every piece of legislation passed by this House, as well as provincial legislation, is made subject to the charter.
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Komarnicki Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Right, so it's going to pass that test.
The second thing is that this provides....
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Komarnicki Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
I'm asking the questions. Mr. Karygiannis can wait his turn.
This piece of legislation doesn't provide instruction; it provides the authority for instruction to issue. Would you agree?
5:10 p.m.
Head, Immigration Law Group, Perley-Robertson, Hill and McDougall LLP
That's correct.
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Komarnicki Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Would you agree with me that the instruction itself, once it issues, would need to be charter-compliant to be effective?
5:10 p.m.
Head, Immigration Law Group, Perley-Robertson, Hill and McDougall LLP
That I don't know. That I don't know.
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
