Mr. Chair, you'd know that in 2008 the Auditor General reported that 42,000 people in this country went missing and 15% of those were criminals. This is the premise of our study on security. We understand very clearly that it is a very disturbing statistic. In this country, we also have to make sure that criminals don't get in.
Ms. Rico, with all due respect, you're a very generous, kind-hearted woman, and I can see that, but you don't let somebody into your own home without knowing exactly who they are. You have to be able to determine who these folks are. When it comes to detention, some of these people are held simply because they're not compliant and don't release their identities and don't cooperate. They could be war criminals, and that could be one of the reasons they are withholding their identities.
It is in Canada's interest to ensure we don't allow anybody into society who could hurt our society. Out of these 42,000 people, the fact that 15% of them have active criminal records is significant. The problem in our country has been that because our immigration system has been so loose at times, repeat criminal offenders and potentially repeat war criminals have re-entered Canada on numerous occasions because we haven't been able to properly identify them, isolate them, hold them, return them, or whatever we needed to do in terms of processing those individuals.
It's very critical to us that we understand who is coming into this country. If it requires we hold them till they either identify themselves or we can properly identify them, I think that's the right thing to do on the basis of the safety of all Canadians.
How much time do I have?