Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to stand and support Motion No. M-39 on behalf of the member for Scarborough-Rouge River. This is the second private member's motion brought forward by the member to which I have had the pleasure and privilege of speaking.
The member for Scarborough-Rouge River is once again bringing to all members of the House a problem that requires very little effort to rectify. However it may cause members of Parliament to be left in a difficult position when it comes to giving proper representation to cases involving the Immigration Act, the Young Offenders Act, and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. Members of Parliament must be allowed to represent the people who elected them to the full ability they are given under the law and to ensure that they have access to all information concerning the aforementioned acts.
At the present time an immigration hearing is off limits to individual members of Parliament. This is a problem particularly if the member is privy to information which may better represent the truth than the story being presented.
If a family promotes a visitor to Canada through the assistance and help of a member of Parliament and assures the member of Parliament that the person will return to their native land on a specific date, and if the visitor then applies for refugee status upon arrival and asks for welfare in the interim, that is a direct abuse of the system. It may well be that the member of Parliament is the only person aware of the original application and the promises which were made at that time. Therefore, why is the act very specific in section 69(2), which reads that the proceedings before the refugee division, et cetera are to be conducted in camera?
Members of Parliament are elected both to serve as legislators and to act as de facto ombudsmen. In cases where the member of Parliament has an interest and where he or she feels there may be an injustice, they should be allowed observer status automatically. That is not to say that any member of Parliament can attend any closed door meeting going on at any time. The member must be allowed to attend the meeting in which he or she has an interest and may be in a position to dispel some of the myths which are present at a number of these closed door meetings.
In the case of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act of which I am well aware from my experience on the parole board, the parole board may decide at its option to exclude anyone it wishes from the hearing. In other words, it may decide that no witnesses are allowed: no family, no friends or character witnesses who may help the person to gain parole or in fact lose parole. That is allowed under section 140(5) of the act.
Once again a member of Parliament is removed from the role even as observer status in a hearing which may affect the community into which the person could be released on a parole pass, even though the member of Parliament may have important knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the release of the offender.
The hon. member for Scarborough-Rouge River is not asking for a huge change in these acts. It is a change which can be accomplished with the stroke of a pen if the motion is passed. It is a necessary item of business which requires very few administrative dollars. It opens up the system and makes it transparent. It will help all members of Parliament to function in a more complete manner for the people who have elected them.
I urge the support of all members for Motion No. M-39 sponsored by the hon. member for Scarborough-Rouge River. Let us open up the closed door meetings of these agencies and allow members of Parliament to further serve their electors in an effort of fairness for all.