Mr. Speaker, on May 14, 1996, I asked the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration a question concerning Philip Chrysafidis, a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board in Montreal. He was appointed by this Liberal government on February 24, 1994. His term of office comes to an end in February 1997.
In May 1996, five criminal charges were laid him. He was accused of the illegal harassment of a female hearing officer at the IRB and of her husband, also an employee of the IRB. A few days later on, Mr. Chrysafidis purportedly threatened the man with physical harm or even death. He is also accused of deliberately intercepting private communications. Finally, he was caught carrying a prohibited weapon.
Because of these accusations, Mr. Chrysafidis has been suspended since May 7, but he is still receiving his full salary of $86,000 a year. Therefore, he is being paid for not working. I wonder how long he will receive $86,000 a year. As you know, the trial could go on for months and even years. The accused will only appear before the court on September 30 for his preliminary hearing.
Given the substantial sum of money involved and the state of our public finance, I wonder why the chairman of the IRB did nothing to put an end to such abuse and also why the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is not acting in a more responsible way and demanding an administrative inquiry in this matter. All the more so since three employees of the board are involved in this case, whether as perpetrators or as victims of alleged acts.
When the accusations against Mr. Chrysafidis were made public, IRB officials refused to comment on this case. They explained it was more of a private case. The courts should then be left to do their job.
However, I think this embarrassing situation for the IRB may have the effect of staining its reputation. It is also damaging its
credibility. I believe this situation is damning and unfortunate enough for the minister to intervene in this case.
Certainly, the commissioner in question is presumed to be innocent. But the relevant authorities must make the administrative decisions that are necessary in this case. How long will this commissioner receive his full salary when he is not performing his duties?
Furthermore, I wish to mention that at least 11 complaints against commissioners have been processed or have been the subject of an inquiry since the complaint processing mechanism was created at the IRB in January 1995. It must also be noted that, in the past, 35 hearing officers had signed a petition criticizing commissioner Chrysafidis' behaviour.
I invite the minister to exercise more diligently her role as minister responsible for the IRB.