Yes, I would like to speak to it.
I want to acknowledge that the minister and my colleagues across the way certainly did listen and hear the concerns expressed by the myriad number of experts, as Mr. Dykstra said, whether they were advocacy groups, lawyers, or refugees themselves, who came forward and talked about the legalities of this and the concerns around detention.
Let me put it on the record: we are still against mandatory detention. We're still against the two-tier approach, but we are also here to try to mitigate this bill as far as we can, and to make it work. We did try a previous amendment in which we wanted a review done within 48 hours.
In light of the fact that the government feels that is not doable, and also the fact that our amendment was defeated, we are here with a compromise in the form of this subamendment, and we are now saying seven days. I think to have seven days for the initial review is very generous. And we're looking at people who are imprisoned; we're not talking about people who are walking around out there. I'm certainly hoping that my colleagues will be open to that.
The other is that after that initial review there should be reviews every 30 days, and once again, that's doable. We are not saying that everybody who comes to our shores by whichever means should just walk in without going through certain checks. We realize identification and security checks have to be done.
At the same time, we don't feel we should be welcoming asylum seekers—just because of their mode of arrival or because of the numbers they arrive in—by putting all of them in detention, in jail, for 14 days without their even getting a chance for review, and then six months after that...?
I think when we look at our rule of law and habeas corpus and various existing conventions, this is way over the top, and as much as I appreciate the move made by the government...I want to acknowledge that and get that on the record. At the same time, I feel it does not go far enough. One of the basic things we value is our liberty, and what we want for ourselves, we want for others. So to take away somebody's liberty for 14 days before they even get to find out what's going on and get a chance to present a case, I'm sure is not humane. It will also contravene many....
I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not going to get into the legalese.
Also, six months after that...that's a long time. With the current system...I know I've heard my colleague say we need that 12 months. I want to remind all of us, we have more than 12 months now. Mr. Dykstra, I'm sure you know we still have people from the boat situation in custody; they haven't been released yet.
Our current legislation, including Bill C-11, covers a lot of the concerns we have, and I hope the government will look at this subamendment in the way it is meant. It is meant in good faith to make something work, and we also heard your concerns around the 48 hours, so we've gone to the seven days. We certainly hope you would support this.
It would be good to get unanimous support for an opposition amendment.