Evidence of meeting #101 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was irb.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:40 a.m.
Acting Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
Those are not the numbers. In each case—
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
Nick Whalen Liberal St. John's East, NL
Sorry, those 425,000 decisions were over the whole 10-year span.
11:40 a.m.
Acting Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
Since 2009, 490 members have worked at the board in that period.
11:40 a.m.
Greg Kipling Director General, Policy, Planning and Corporate Affairs Branch, Immigration and Refugee Board
It's about 10 years he's been with the IRB, so 2008-09.
11:40 a.m.
Acting Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
He was appointed in June 2008 to June 2011, June 2011 to June 2014, and then June 2014 to June 2017.
11:40 a.m.
Acting Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
He was a GIC. That's right. Those were three, three-year terms.
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
Nick Whalen Liberal St. John's East, NL
We're looking at maybe 1,600 cases between those two particular employees.
What has the department done to ensure that in the scope of those decisions there wasn't systemic bias that affected the potential refugees?
11:40 a.m.
Acting Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
In each of those cases they decided, there was always an option for their decision to be challenged in the Federal Court.
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
Nick Whalen Liberal St. John's East, NL
Was there really an opportunity for those 1,600 people to make a challenge in the Federal Court?
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
Nick Whalen Liberal St. John's East, NL
You're throwing it out there as a legitimate option for somebody. Where are they going to come up with the tens of thousands of dollars to bring their appeal?
11:40 a.m.
Acting Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
It's not necessarily an option for all of them, but they were represented—
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Rob Oliphant
I'm afraid I need to end it at that.
As chair, I'd just like you to clarify this for the committee. Are you saying that if a complaint process ends with a person being removed from the board because of a complaint in one instance, perhaps, of inappropriate behaviour, there's no review of all the decisions that person made, especially the negated decisions of that judge.
11:40 a.m.
Conservative
David Tilson Conservative Dufferin—Caledon, ON
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
How many complaints have there been in the last year against public servants versus the Governor in Council appointees?