Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, everyone.
This question will be to the officials this morning. The way I understand it, the number of refugee claims in Canada has been increasing at a higher rate than in most other countries. In 2008 there were almost 37,000 new refugee claims, compared to over 28,000 in the year 2007. This represents an almost 29% increase in refugee claims. It is also an established fact in our Canadian system that quite a few of these claims failed. As Mr. St-Cyr also recognized, not all claims are genuine.
Before I ask my question, the way I understand the proposed legislation or amendment Mr. St-Cyr is bringing out, this will be another layer in the immigration system itself and is basically an appeal to reason and a paper-based appeal, as is the case in most Federal Court appeals as well.