Given that I have three minutes, I will make two brief points.
First, I want to take up the discussion from last time. I just want to make it clear that if the goal is to speedily remove foreigners from Canada, I don't think the provision in the subsection 64(2) amendment will be effective. It will create a whole series of other problems, other obstacles, and other challenges.
There are other legislative innovations Parliament could have chosen that would have been far more effective in achieving the objective. The real question is, why has it taken so long? In the examples you gave, if we were to analyze each one of them, we could easily explain to you why it takes so long. There are different reasons and different explanations. Of course historical examples aren't always helpful. Things have changed and policies have changed, especially in immigration over the course of the last few years. What happened 10 years ago is not any way indicative of what's happening today. The reality is different.
I do want to make a point, because I don't think many other witnesses will speak about it. I'd like to speak about the provision that allows for CSIS officers to conduct interviews. I make this point because CSIS officers now conduct interviews all the time, and they do it without having the legal authority. I don't think it's a bad idea that if CSIS officers are going to conduct interviews, they be given the authority to do so. My concern, however, is that when you embark upon this road, you have to realize that it's unprecedented to give CSIS officers the power to compel people to answer questions, because they've never had that power, and it's inconsistent with their role, some would say, as intelligence officers.
The other important fact is that if they are going to have this power, and given that applicants will be under a duty to answer questions truthfully, and if they don't answer questions truthfully they can be subject to prosecution under the act, it's vitally important, given all of the different disputes we have had over time as to what was said and what wasn't said in an interview, that there be a directive in the legislation, a requirement that the interviews be recorded.
There have been, in the past, many different situations. I've had clients and other counsel have had clients where there have been serious factual disputes about what was said and what wasn't said. If there's going to be a duty to answer questions truthfully and a person can be subject to prosecution for not answering questions truthfully, then there has to be a record kept of the interviews.
Given that I had three minutes, that's about all I can say.