Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My comments relate to the minister's mandate letter under the section of leading “government-wide efforts to resettle 25,000 refugees from Syria in the coming months.”
Earlier this year the government made a decision to waive the immigration loan program or payment requirement for Syrian refugees. The minister's parliamentary secretary is on the record saying that the government is treating Syrian refugees differently from other cohorts. Questions have been raised as to what criteria are being used to define when the government treats one class of refugees differently from another. This raises an interesting question. Under subsection 15(1) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it says that:
Every individual...before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection...of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or...physical disability.
Subsection 15(2) says:
Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object....
It goes on and so forth. The case law in this is very interesting. What I find interesting about subsection 15(2) is, how would you apply the test of the charter to two different cohorts or multiple different cohorts of refugees from around the world who are seeking refuge in Canada? Arguably they all are disadvantaged per the reading of subsection15(2). Like the minister, I also have a background in economics. I'm not a lawyer, but I think this is a very interesting question not only for the fairness.... I know my colleague from Surrey just asked questions. We've had questions from Surrey council with regard to this program, but we also have the budget coming up. I think this is an important question in terms of overall costing of the government's program.
Given that I think this is a very interesting area of study, Mr. Chair, I move:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee study the government’s recent decision to waive the Immigration Loans Program repayment requirement for Syrian refugees; that the Committee examine whether waiving this requirement for Syrian refugees and not for other refugee cohorts constitutes a violation of Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; that this study be comprised of no less than four meetings to be held prior to May 1, 2016; and that the Committee report its findings to the House.