Often there is a tendency to view appeal provisions and humanitarian relief provisions as something that delays the inevitability of a deportation, and therefore it's slowing down a necessary end result. It's also important, though, to recognize that these truly are safeguards to ensure that the proper decision about deportation is being made, be it the appeal before the immigration appeal division or be it the humanitarian relief possibilities that are open through other avenues.
It is an opportunity, often the only opportunity, to ensure that very compelling personal circumstances, many of which often involve binding international human rights obligations, concerns about being returned to torture, concerns about minor children being separated from parents, and concerns about failure to properly protect the best interests of children, and other kinds of issues get taken into account and are properly assessed. Therefore the right decision about removal, taking into account the totality of the circumstances, is reached.
By taking away those appeal or humanitarian relief mechanisms and the ability to do that, those human rights safeguards are no longer present in the Canadian system. That will have a very serious detrimental impact on large numbers of permanent residents and other individuals who are not citizens, and their families as well. I think we have to recognize the impact and consequences of these removal appeal and relief mechanisms goes far wider.