I move that Bill C-12 be amended by adding after line 23 on page 18 the following new clause:
39.1 Section 72 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):
(1.1) Despite subsection (1), a claimant who knowingly provides an officer with false or misleading information is not entitled to make an application for judicial review with respect to any matter under this Act.
Colleagues, it is my opinion that in any application, there should be more serious consequences for lying to officers. Canadians are tired of fraud in our immigration system. This amendment paves the way for a common-sense consequence for those who knowingly lie to an officer. All of us have this issue in our casework as well.
Removing judicial review, meaning there would be no recourse for liars and the system would be freed up to serve the people it's intended to serve, is what this amendment proposes to do. It also should deter bogus asylum claims and reduce the abuse of our asylum system. It will also reduce court delays, which will free up dockets. This move aims to restore Canadians' and newcomers' confidence in Canada's immigration system.
Colleagues, I direct your attention today to an article in the National Post. It was actually published this morning. The title says, “Somali woman who was in a polygamous marriage and lied to get into Canada wins another chance to stay”.
It goes on to say:
A Somali woman barred from Canada for five years for giving false names and birth dates for herself...while applying for refugee status here, dodging the fact that she had entered into a polygamous marriage with a Canadian-Somali man, has won another chance at staying in this country.
I think that our asylum system—and our immigration system writ large, but especially our asylum system—should be predicated on a foundation of truth. The adjudicators in our asylum system should be making decisions based on true information. If somebody has lied, that should preclude them from receiving protection under the system.
This is a common-sense amendment. I think that if Canadians are listening to this at home, they would say that, yes, if somebody lies, they should not be eligible. I hope colleagues will support this amendment.
Thank you.