Evidence of meeting #11 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was claim.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
Should we have an agreement with Great Britain, for example?
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
Would it change the workload at the IRB if there were an agreement like that?
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
Well, it would.... Any agreement where the government sends people back to a country would probably have an impact on the intake.
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
Okay.
On another angle, there have been cases of deliberate misrepresentation to an officer and, of course, that undermines the integrity of the system. We're not talking about mistakes and errors. It's deliberate lying for fraudulent means. What proportion of immigration appeal division appeals involve findings of deliberate misrepresentation?
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
We look at it from the point of view of credibility. There could be people misrepresenting their country of nationality, misrepresenting the nature of their claim or having documents that are proven to be, in effect—
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
Do you have a number? Do you have a proportion of people who misrepresent in their cases? Do you know that?
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
We have manifestly unfounded claims findings that we can have and it's about—
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
Is that something that's published or is it something that—
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
I have the stats. I just don't want to rely on my memory. Let me—
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
You can table that with the committee. That would be fine.
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
What you're saying is that if somebody misrepresents themselves, that doesn't automatically mean that you will deny the appeal. You'll still continue the process even if they lie to you.
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
That's the whole thing about having a hearing. Someone asks for refugee status and they have to prove their claim. They have to prove who they are. They have to prove they have a well-founded fear of persecution for one of the grounds. They have to have evidence to support it and they have to be able to show a lack of protection.
Now, sometimes we find that people have fraudulent documents. We say no to those.
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
Okay. That's good.
I have a limited time. I have one more question.
Sometimes people file an asylum claim, leave the country to go back home or to a different country and are not around for their hearing. This happens. Is that correct?
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
We decide then to make an abandonment hearing and close the file.
Conservative
Conservative
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
Well, they have a chance to come. If they don't come, if they don't show up, the case is declared abandoned.
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
Does that happen all the time or are there conditions around that?
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
There are no conditions. I mean, if they don't show up for their hearing and they've been called to come to their hearing, they have—
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
What if they at one point returned to their country and now they're back for the hearing? Does that automatically cause you to abandon the claim as well?