Evidence of meeting #22 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was board.
A recording is available from Parliament.
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NDP
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Conservative
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Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Thank you.
On the traditional provisions, I'm trying to understand. The people who are in the system right now, once this gets royal assent and it kicks in, do they switch over? Or do the ones who are in the system right now continue in that process?
4:50 p.m.
Manager, Program Development, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Are you talking about pre-removal risk assessment applications or more generally?
4:50 p.m.
Manager, Program Development, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Basically, there is a series of provisions with respect to transition. There is a transitional provision with respect to humanitarian and compassionate considerations, which comes into effect on royal assent, with the two provisions I mentioned that provide for mitigation in the course of the transition up to the point where the RAD provisions come into force.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Sorry, but you said H and C decisions. Can you elaborate a little bit more on that, please, exactly what...?
4:50 p.m.
Manager, Program Development, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Okay. The bill provides currently that all of the provisions with respect to humanitarian and compassionate considerations that are made in this bill come into force on royal assent. That is because there are no great infrastructures to be built in order to bring those provisions into law, so that's done immediately.
For the creation of the refugee appeal division, for the staffing of the refugee protection division by public servants, for the creation of rules with respect to the triage interview, the refugee protection division, and the refugee appeal division, and in terms of finding accommodation for the board and its new structure, all of those things are going to take time, so there is provision for that taking up to two years.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
--you come into Canada, you apply for refugee status, and in the meantime you also apply for H and C. I think that will still be continued, right?
4:50 p.m.
Manager, Program Development, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
The proposal says that if a person makes a claim for refugee protection, they can no longer apply for humanitarian and compassionate consideration. There is a proposal among the government motions for an exception for those persons who, prior to the hearing before the refugee protection division, recognize that they're in the wrong stream, that they should be applying for humanitarian and compassionate consideration. If those people, up to that point, withdraw their refugee claim, then they can apply for humanitarian and compassionate consideration.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Okay. I could be wrong, but I thought the minister mentioned something about how they can simultaneously apply for H and C.
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Manager, Program Development, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
They can...?
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Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
I think so. That's what he said last night. I could be wrong.
4:50 p.m.
Manager, Program Development, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Under the current bill, no, they can't. The minister has proposed an amendment--or there is a government amendment in the package of motions that you have--
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Manager, Program Development, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
--that would allow for the person to change their mind and go to the H and C.
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Liberal
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Manager, Program Development, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
No. You have to choose, but you have that period of up to 60 days from the date of the triage interview to effect your decision and act in either way.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Okay. As the bill stands right now, you apply for refugee status. That's a negative, and then you go through the process, and in the meantime you're applying for H and C. You would still be able to be removed under H and C; you're still going to be able to be removed although you have an H and C application.
4:50 p.m.
Manager, Program Development, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
You're right. There is no provision in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act with respect to a stay of removal where there's an application for humanitarian and compassionate consideration.
