Thank you very much.
I think we are going a little far in saying that refugee claimants like that could be deported even when they are in danger of being tortured. Actually, under the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Canada would be required not to deport them.
It is true that, with the elimination of the pre-removal risk assessment… No, that’s right, it stays in place for people who are deemed inadmissible.
In any case, we would be going too far to say that those refugee claimants will be sent back if we know they are likely to be tortured. But it is definitely the case that they will not be able to apply for permanent residence on humanitarian grounds.
To show the kinds of grounds that we mentioned in our brief, namely links with Canada, not having committed acts of violence, and medical issues, our recommendation is not at all complicated: do not eliminate the right to apply on humanitarian grounds. For reasons of which I am unaware, some people seem to think that the act of applying on humanitarian grounds delays removal. I repeat that this is not the case. Nothing in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act indicates that removal is suspended when an application is made on humanitarian grounds. That is not the case at all.
Making an application does not guarantee that it will be accepted. An immigration officer sits down, weighs the factors involved, assesses the person’s difficulties, any medical issues and the overriding interest of any child involved.
Our recommendation has nothing complicated in it. Leave that avenue open. Let immigration officers do their work as they have always done. Let them decide on the claims. Removals will not be suspended because, at the risk of repeating myself, an application on humanitarian grounds does not have that effect.