In my view, we must always give people a chance. We have to allow refugee claimants to get their bearings, if you will. We tend to forget that these are often people who have experienced traumatic events. We have to allow them to gather the documents they need to build their case, meet with their consultants and get a good understanding of Canada's refugee system. That all takes time. People can come from different cultures, different political systems and different societies. All that takes more than eight days. That is impossible, even in the best of cases. People need more time to properly understand the process they are moving through.
On May 31st, 2010. See this statement in context.