In the January 2006 election I was a candidate. I didn't prevail, but there was a new government in Canada. About a month later there was a story on a Portuguese cable TV channel. There's a big Portuguese population, about 5,000 people, and there was a story about this family at the airport that was being deported that had been in Canada for ten years. There were tears because one young lady was just finishing high school--she had three weeks to go--and of course somebody broke the rules ten years ago and they were paying a big price ten years later. It's a sad situation. Since there was a new government, I was getting the heat as if it was something that we did within four weeks. Everybody was still looking for their new offices and where the washrooms were in Parliament.
I'm wondering what we can do to help avoid those situations. Is there clemency for people in those situations, or can they formally request clemency?