In my view, with the bill, we are talking about two extremes. The average is currently 18 months, which is incredibly long. I see the toll those 18 months take on the people we follow and who stay in contact with us. The impact is quite dramatic. Some people become deeply depressed because they do not have access to family reunification, among other things. Nor do they have access to the full range of services, and that goes on for 18 months. I know someone who came here at 17 and who is now 21. He was an unaccompanied minor. To this day, he has still not appeared before a board member. In my opinion, that is unacceptable.
I also think holding an initial information-gathering interview within eight days is unacceptable. I work in a specialized residence for vulnerable asylum seekers. Not everyone has access to our services, not everyone is referred to the Project Refuge program. Our clients have been assessed by a local community service centre in Montreal, through PRAIDA, a program which refers them to us because it has been determined that they may be more vulnerable than most asylum seekers.
Establishing an eight-day rule will, in my opinion, hurt the group of people I am in charge of helping.