Good evening.
I would like to start by saying that the Immigrant Women's Centre of Montreal applauds the present government's efforts to amend the refugee determination process. We understand its priorities in making the asylum system more efficient.
I agree with the minister that a near-58% refusal rate of asylum seekers over the last two years is wasteful, and an average waiting period of 19 months before first hearing is unacceptable. It is therefore vital to encourage the institution of a system that increases Canada's refugee acceptance rate, while significantly reducing delays.
However, it is our position that this reform should not be carried out at the expense of fairness. More specifically, it must not favour what some people might refer to as bona fide refugees--like those who are presently in UN camps, for example--over asylum seekers who may seem more suspicious and opportunistic.
We should not be privileging refugees overseas solely on the basis of a perception that they can more easily be processed and can better prove their claims of persecution to be well founded. If we sacrifice the lives of asylum seekers, who would otherwise become accepted refugees, by making it more difficult for them to adequately present their cases, it might prove to be more economical, but the cost would still be too high.
After careful review of Bill C-11 we find that certain of the proposed changes would especially handicap those seeking asylum from gender-based persecution.
I would like to express my concern about the following two proposed amendments. They are subclause 11(2), replacing subsection 100(4); and proposed subsection 161(1), making a preliminary interview mandatory within eight days of being referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board, followed by a subsequent hearing no more than 60 days following that interview. The other one is clause 12, adding a new subsection 109(1) designating countries of origin. Citizens would not be eligible for an appeal at the RAD.
Women, in their country, may suffer specific types of violence related to the fact that they are women, despite an appearance of democracy in those countries. Spousal abuse, trafficking in women and young girls, sexual mutilation, degrading widowhood rites, forced marriage, crimes of honour, sexual orientation and the maintenance of women in the state of minors are a few examples of that.
An obligation for these women to submit to time restrictions, with regard to an interview in the 8 days following the filing of an application for asylum and the first hearing within 60 days following that interview, as proposed in subsection 11(2) of the bill, could place serious constraints in view of the content of the experience of these women.
As some members of Parliament have already pointed out, for a woman who, for example, has been the victim of sexual violence committed by figures of authority and for whom it is impossible, in her country of origin, to even talk about that situation, it will be much more difficult to speak frankly about her experience to an official, particularly since she may not have had enough time to obtain good legal advice.
We understand that, if the official in question finds that the applicant needs more time to prepare psychologically for the interview and hearing, it would be possible to extend the time periods. However, how do you ensure that that official can in fact come to that conclusion if the woman in question has no one to defend it? Can we count on that official being able to read her thoughts? We don't think so.
That's why we strongly suggest to the authors of the bill, first, that they clarify the utility of this interview before introducing it, more specifically with regard to the record of personal information which, we believe, already serves the purpose that such an interview might have.
Second, if the justifications prove valid, we emphasize that the time period granted is sufficient to obtain the assistance of a legal counsellor.
Lastly, the creation of a list of designated countries, in our view, could result in discrimination against women. A list of these designated countries, from which some women seeking asylum come, would have the consequence of denying them access to appeal or a fair and independent hearing that would completely take into account injustices committed on the basis of their gender.
A possible solution to this problem would be to clearly establish the regulations regarding rigorous criteria for selection of designated countries, which would take into consideration the situation of women in those countries.
However, to ensure that our refugee determination system is fair for all, we ask that subsection 109(1) be repealed. This does not mean we aren't sensitive to the problem of countries that generate a high percentage of asylum refusals, but that we believe instead that the necessary time must be taken to propose an alternative solution that wouldn't cause harm to a given group.
Women asylum seekers often have no other possibility than to leave their country and to seek protection at the port of entry. We are seeking refugee status for women who are persecuted because they are women and because we are opposed to the twofold violence of an application processing system that would discriminate against women. That, in our view, would be a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and of the Geneva Convention.
Women who file a valid claim based on gender and individuals who file a claim based on sexual orientation and sexual identity will be major victims of this bill—