Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I move that Bill C-12, in clause 52, be amended by adding after line 42 on page 23 the following:
(5) Section 112 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (3):
(4) Unless the application is allowed without a hearing, a hearing must, despite paragraph 113(b), be held in the case of an applicant for protection whose claim for refugee protection has been determined to be ineligible solely under paragraph 101(1)(b.1) or (b.2).
Mr. Chair, section 73 of Bill C-12 introduces new ineligibility provisions that prevent people from making a refugee claim more than a year after arriving in Canada for the first time, retroactive to June 24, 2020. This section also expands the safe third country agreement with the United States by making ineligible individuals who make a refugee claim 14 days or more after entering a land border between ports of entry. These individuals are prevented under Bill C-12 from accessing an oral hearing before the IRB. This is one of the major concerns that has been raised by many NGOs who worked with migrants and refugees during the review process for Bill C-12.
Many stakeholders have acknowledged that this arbitrary one-year restriction violates international law, specifically the principle of non-refoulement, whereby people should not be sent back somewhere where it is believed they would be at risk of harm. This provision results in Canada sending people to countries where they face danger or persecution. This amendment would ensure that those no longer eligible to make a refugee claim through the IRB due to this arbitrary one-year bar and the government's extension of the safe third country agreement with the United States have access to a mandatory hearing to increase procedural fairness; it would also avoid having individuals sent back to persecution.
Adopting this amendment would align with legislative changes made to IRPA in 2019, when an ineligibility provision for asylum seekers from Five Eyes countries was invoked. Section 113.01 was added to the IRPA to ensure that those who were denied the ability to make a claim through this provision would have access to an enhanced process that includes an oral interview.
Mr. Chair, if you can indulge me for just one more moment, I'd like to give an example.