Evidence of meeting #23 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.
Liberal
Sameer Zuberi Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
Let's say that somebody is making an asylum claim, and the government believes they are an unsavoury character. The claimant has to prove that they are a legitimate asylum seeker.
Liberal
Sameer Zuberi Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
If they do not prove they're a legitimate asylum seeker, they are deported.
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
Well, we come to the conclusion that they do not have a well-founded fear of persecution, and whatever removal order they have can be executed.
Liberal
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
It is there; it's just suspended. Once we're done, it comes back into effect.
Liberal
Sameer Zuberi Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
I'm trying to contextualize the charged conversation we were just having. The point I'm making is that a claimant has to prove their case. Is that correct?
Liberal
Sameer Zuberi Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
Let's say the government believes the claimant's claim is complete BS, and in fact, they are a threat or an unsavoury character. Does the government have to prove its claim, or can it throw the claim out there without proving it?
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
It has to come with sufficient evidence to establish that the claimant is actually not credible or is lying, and then it's put to the claimant. If the claimant can't establish their claim, the decision will not be favourable.
Liberal
Sameer Zuberi Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
It's not enough to cast shade and say that person X is unsavoury. The government has to prove it.
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
It's like any other case. A party alleging something needs to prove it.
Liberal
Sameer Zuberi Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
That's my understanding. I just want to make it plain for all watching and for this committee, so we can all understand as members that those are the facts and the way the law works in this country.
Liberal
Sameer Zuberi Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
I want to switch gears and talk about the differential between European rates of claim acceptance and Canadian rates of claim acceptance.
You have about a minute and a half. Can you explain the differential for the ordinary watcher?
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
The systems are often very different. Where they have a two-step process—a first process gives you a certain acceptance rate and the second level gives another acceptance rate—it's often difficult to know which is which or even to know what the total is.
Also, in Europe there are different degrees of protection. In Canada we have one. You are a convention refugee—or a protected person—or you're not. There's one protection. In European countries there are often different types of protection, temporary types of protection. You get three years or five years and then your case needs to be reviewed.
If you compare apples with apples, with the permanent protection we afford them, the difference will often be very significant.
Liberal
Sameer Zuberi Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
It's the same. There would not be as stark a differential as what we are hearing about.
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
You need to compare apples with apples.
Liberal
Sameer Zuberi Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
I understand. You're saying these are apples and oranges. When you compare apples and apples, the differential would be much less. Is that correct?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Julie Dzerowicz
Thank you, Mr. Zuberi. Thank you, Madame Brassard.
Next, we'll start our third round, so five minutes.
We'll start off with Mr. Davies for five minutes.
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Mr. Bush, I'm told that up to 50% of the detention capacity at CBSA has been reduced recently. Is this true?
Director General, Immigration and Asylum Policy, Canada Border Services Agency
I can't tell you the exact percentage of what the reduction is, but when provinces decided not to allow CBSA to utilize provincial facilities for holding immigration detainees, yes, we lost capacity. We also added some capacity for higher-risk detainees in a federal corrections facility in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines.
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
I'm told an internal memo confirmed that 50% of the current capacity CBSA had for detention was reduced. Are there plans to rectify this?