Citizenship and Immigration Committee on March 27th, 2012

[Chungsen Leung, Conservative, Willowdale, ON]

What measures are we taking to address many of these multicultural organizations that are in Canada? On the one hand, they could be perfectly great organizations that promote integration and multiculturalism. On the other hand, they could be just a front for nefarious activity. To what extent have we gone to examine that aspect of our public security?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

That's a very good question.

Actually, a number of groups that work in the settlement area with newcomers have raised with me this concern. They have said that our settlement programs are designed to integrate people, not to inflame ancient enmities from their countries of origin. This concerns me a great deal, which is why, beginning with my speech at the global parliamentarians conference on anti-Semitism in January 2009 in London, I outlined certain principles that should govern our funding of settlement organizations.

I think the groups that apologize for acts of terrorism and terrorist organizations or extremism or groups whose leadership is involved in the promotion of hatred have no business receiving subsidies from my ministry or any other ministry in the government. We've actually removed funding from organizations that we believe have been involved in promoting extreme and hateful views. I make no apology for that.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Thank you.

Mr. Davies.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I left off talking about Islamophobia. I have a few more questions, Mr. Minister.

It would be very helpful if you, as minister for multiculturalism, issued a clear statement to the Canadian public against any form of Islamophobia or rising resentment against people because of faith, of being Muslim. Would that be something you'd be prepared to do?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Yes. Not only would it be pertinent, but I've done it on many occasions. I will continue to do so.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

People have testified before this committee that Muslim immigration is a threat to Canadian security. Would that be your position? If not, would you issue a clear statement to that effect?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

I have been very clear that our immigration system makes no adverse judgment against people based on their faith, culture of origin, or country of origin. Ever since 1960, with the amendments to the Immigration Act by the Diefenbaker government, our system has been free of racial, religious, or cultural discrimination.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you.

I'd now like to turn to Bill C-31.

Mr. Minister, mandatory detention without review is a clause that is present in Bill C-31. A very similar clause has been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court Canada in the security certificate case. How much money does the government expect to pay to defend the charter challenge that lawyers across this country have said inevitably will come?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

First of all, you can find a lawyer to offer you any opinion, and we are confident that Bill C-31 complies with the charter.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Can you explain that? I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I think it would be a benefit to have an explanation.

If the Supreme Court of Canada has already said that the government detaining someone for a period of time without review is unconstitutional, how does that provision in Bill C-31 pass constitutional muster, in your view?

You must have received advice on that.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Yes, we have. We believe that Bill C-31 complies with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We believe there is a compelling policy objective in ensuring that we have identified illegal and irregular migrants. These are people who typically arrive without documentation in suspicious circumstances, who by definition have been smuggled into Canada by a criminal organization in violation of multiple laws.

We believe there is a compelling security rationale for maintaining immigration detention for such individuals until we have identified who they are. In a vast majority of these cases, though, it is a practical reality. Smuggled migrants who make asylum claims will benefit from the accelerated timelines of our faster asylum system. In many cases, if they are in fact bona fide refugees they would receive protected person status and be released from detention in a matter of months.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Is it the government's position that the mandatory detention would violate the charter, but it's saved as justified under section 1?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

It is our contention that Bill C-31 complies with the charter, and that there is a compelling rationale to identify smuggled migrants who have arrived here illegally before releasing them from detention.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Fair enough.

Bill C-4, which is the very first bill that you introduced in this Parliament, the so-called human smuggling bill, has been scrapped and rolled into Bill C-31. That first bill you introduced, Bill C-4, actually required the mandatory imprisonment of children of any age if they arrive by irregular means.

Of course, in Bill C-31, the only change made to that provision is that you've taken it out. Now only children who are 16 or 17 would face mandatory imprisonment. Would you acknowledge that it was a mistake in Bill C-4 to have unbridled imprisonment of children, regardless of their age?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

No, I would not.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Is that what explains the change?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

I reject categorically your categorization of immigration detention as imprisonment. In fact--

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

What would you call it, sir?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

I would call it immigration detention.

IRPA currently allows for the detention of minors. As we speak, there are minors in immigration detention, which is not a prison.

I invite you to visit some of our immigration detention centres--

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I have.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

--like the one in GTEC in Toronto, which is basically a two-star hotel with a small fence around it. These are not prisons; they are a necessary tool in managing the integrity of our system, like every other liberal democracy has.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Why did you make the change, Mr. Minister?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

In respect of the Bill C-31 provision, we wanted to clarify what we had said before, which is that the minister had discretion under Bill C-4 to release minors from detention. We wanted to clarify because there were misunderstandings fueled by you and others that we are going to have mandatory detention of all minors, without discretion.

We wanted to be clear that the default position will be to release unaccompanied minors from detention if they are coming in as designated irregular arrivals.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

It appears, Mr. Minister, that when you table legislation that doesn't have any age limit and then you subsequently correct that, it's probably a good thing the opposition pointed that out and assisted in clarifying something.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

But we said in the previous debate under Bill C-4 that it was always the intention to exercise ministerial discretion to release from detention unaccompanied minors. Now we've clarified that.