Thank you, Chair.
Thanks, Minister, for coming today, and thanks for undertaking the fundamental review of the “excessive demand” provision, because we have heard, in the testimony, how many families have to go through a lot of painful, emotional stress. I am one of them. Many years ago my mother-in-law's case of immigration was rejected because of medical inadmissibility.
We have heard testimony about the effort and the resources that are put into the mitigation plans when an applicant receives a letter warning them that they are facing a finding of medical inadmissibility.
Immigration lawyer Michael Battista said, “They evaporate after a permanent resident becomes a permanent resident”. He added that his phone charge is $4,000 to $5,000 to prepare a mitigation plan as it's labour-intensive and those fees don't include extras like expert medical opinions. He added that the system “does seem to be economically biased toward those who can afford the legal fees to fight the determinations.”
Roy Hanes of Carleton University said that this creates a two-tier system: those who can afford to hire legal help and to mitigate their costs, and those who cannot; and the latter more often find the door to Canada is closed.
Minister, can you please tell us what happens to these mitigation plans after they are accepted? I'm not suggesting enforcement of these plans, barring outright fraud. We heard that systemic tracking would be expensive and a bureaucratic nightmare. It does lead to these questions, though. What purpose do these mitigation plans serve? Are they achieving that purpose, and are they creating a two-tier entry into Canada?