Evidence of meeting #7 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 iraqi.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:40 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
Okay. Good. Thank you, Mr. Karygiannis.
I'll go to you for your second motion:
That the Committee send for a report from the government regarding the status of transfers of funds to the Province of Ontario pursuant to the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, and regarding analogous transfers to the other provinces.
Mr. Karygiannis, do you care to speak to your motion?
5:40 p.m.
Liberal
5:40 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
Okay.
Does anyone else care to speak to that?
(Motion agreed to)
5:40 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
Okay.
This is the third motion:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee recommend the government immediately serve notice and then proceed to abrogate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States of America.
This is Ms. Chow's motion.
Ms. Chow, go to it.
5:40 p.m.
NDP
Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON
Mr. Chairman, I believe there is an amendment coming, which I will regard as being friendly.
I move this motion because the Federal Court recently struck down the agreement, and it means that if we continue to not allow refugees to claim their status outside Canada--in the United States--we will end up spending a lot of taxpayers' dollars in fighting this case and making an appeal. I believe there is a very friendly amendment to bring the department in to talk about this, which is fine. What I don't want to see is an appeal that would go to the Federal Court and then go to the Supreme Court, and many years later we'll probably eventually lose, but in the meantime there will be lots of hardship for refugee claimants who are not able to claim to be refugees outside Canada.
5:40 p.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
I would like to make a friendly amendment that we ask the officials to come in and give us a briefing on this.
5:40 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
Okay. There is an amendment on the floor.
First of all, how would you feel about that amendment, Ms. Chow, to have the officials come in and brief us on this?
5:40 p.m.
NDP
Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON
Sure. Prior to having this motion, I don't mind having the staff discuss it.
5:40 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
Could we put your motion in abeyance until we have officials come in to brief us on it, and then you could resubmit your motion?
5:40 p.m.
NDP
Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON
There is a date that the Federal Court set. We have to deal with this before a date. I think it's some time in....
5:40 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Komarnicki Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
There were two dates. They asked for submissions from each of the parties by December 17, and then they can respond to each other's submissions before January 14, at which point there will be a judgment or order issued.
5:45 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
Okay. So do you want to take a chance and have the motion voted down, or do you want to take a chance--
5:45 p.m.
NDP
Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON
Why don't we do two motions? Mr. Karygiannis can request the department to come and brief us. Given the timeline, we may have to proceed with this.
5:45 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
Well, it's a little bit out of sync here, because I think we're dealing with the amendment first, but I will allow some wide-ranging conversation on this.
Mr. Komarnicki.
5:45 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Komarnicki Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
All that date does is establish the parties' response, which will result in a court order or judgment of some kind that will be pretty much in line with what the judge has stated. There may be some changes--they will be minor--but I don't think it would be inappropriate to hear the department officials on what's already before us and have you make the motion at any time in the new year, or as soon as we get back, if we can't do it before then.
It's not going to change anything, because that date is just a chance for the parties to respond, for the judge to actually make the decision, and then as a response to that.
5:45 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
Ms. Chow is in agreement with that.
Okay, thank you. So we'll just leave that alone for the time being. We'll leave it in abeyance until--
5:45 p.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
But you have agreed to bring officials in front of us?
5:45 p.m.
Conservative
5:45 p.m.
Bloc
Meili Faille Bloc Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
In the past, there was also the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, the UNHCR, which is partly responsible for following up on the agreement. Guests—
5:45 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
I'll leave that between you and the clerk to try to make some arrangements as to who would come before the committee to tell us about all that.
Thank you.
We'll consider the fourth one, Ms. Chow:
That the committee adopt the motion adopted on December 6, 2007 with regard to War Resisters as a report to the House and that the Chair present this report to the House.
Ms. Chow.