I must point out, Mr. Chair, that we are not removing section 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which empowers the minister to act in exceptional cases. That section is not affected by our proposed reform.
However, I must also emphasize that many of the elements in the current legislation, which was adopted by Mr. Coderre, create distinctions among countries. The law designates source countries from which we accept refugee claims. We have a moratorium on deportation. For that, there is a list of countries established by the Minister of Public Safety on the advice of public servants. There is even a list of countries for which we grant visa exemptions. All that goes to show that we already assess countries' conditions.
As well, Mr. Coderre, I must underscore the fact that, according to our proposed reform, each refugee claim will be dealt with in a specific and unique way, on a case-by-case basis, according to its merits, by an independent and expert decision-maker at the IRB, all in accordance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Decision-makers will not issue negative decisions based on the fact that claimants are nationals from designated safe countries.
There is only one exception for not granting a hearing before the IRB, and that is when claimants are U.S. nationals, and that is because of the agreement between Canada and the United States on safe third countries. That is the only exception that would prevent someone from obtaining a hearing before the IRB. If I may say so, you are the one who implemented that agreement.