Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
The members will get a chance to vote on this. I will be sure of that. I am coming to the end of my comments about this, and committee members will know that when I make comments like this it's not to drag out the time, but rather to make my point clear. I hope the members will understand that, and I will be looking forward to seeing how the committee members vote on this motion.
As I was saying, Mr. Chair, this contributes to the stress on the IRB and the NGOs like the Inland Refugee Society of B.C. If hearings are delayed, claimants remain in the IRSBC system; they simply don't have the capacity to deal with it because they don't get any funding.
Refugee claimants are resilient and ready to integrate, but they are met with barriers that prolong their settlement and their reliance on social services. An increase in front-end support when refugee claimants are at their most vulnerable would ensure the efficient and successful settlement and transition of this population into Canadian society. Is this what the Prime Minister meant when he tweeted, “Welcome to Canada”?
These situations are entirely preventable. The government needs to take its head out of the sand and acknowledge that things need to be addressed. A great way to start this right here at this committee would be to support this motion to study this. We can study the trend at irregular crossings and the changes that need to occur at the IRB. We can report our recommendations to the government; we can urge government action on this front; and our committee can be the place where all this starts.
I sincerely hope that the government members will support my motion today, Mr. Chair.
With that, I close, and I look forward to hearing the debate or comments from by committee members on the substance of my motion, and to an actual vote. Let's get on with it and get the work done.
