Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to address Bill C-63. Before I begin I would like to compliment my colleague from Wentworth—Burlington for his very passionate and heartfelt speech and for his willingness to be open to share some of himself with us. Often we do not take the time to do that and I appreciate it.
I would like to frame my comments toward this bill in the context of what I see to be a major problem within the current immigration system. I make that comment very clearly, once again, with the immigration system, not with the concept of immigration. Immigration is a positive contribution to Canada. Canada is a country built on immigration. No one disputes that fact. That is a part of our great history.
I would say that there are some serious and very glaring problems within our immigration system which need to be addressed. They have been brought to the attention of the minister and the government, not just by opposition members but by many different groups from around the country in a number of different areas. In fact, I would be so bold as to say that the immigration system is broken and it appears as though the minister is either unwilling or unable to fix it.
I make those comments not flippantly and not in a rhetorical manner. I have had the opportunity to study the system over the last year and half and it has come to my attention that there are some very serious problems which need to be addressed that have not been addressed.
When we see a problem, when we see a concern with something, when we know there is a problem and yet we fail to take action, then we also fail to take the responsibility for that lack of action and the consequences which flow from it.
I would say that there are some serious consequences as a result of many inactions within our immigration system.
I will move on to address some of the information that the minister has shared with us in the tabling of the bill. I would first point out that the current minister has been the minister for three years and this is the first substantive legislation she has brought forward. I have some questions as to why it is that this would be her first piece of legislation when there are many other issues at hand right now. I am not saying that this is not important legislation, but in my mind and in the minds of many of my colleagues, we do not see this as being the top priority. There are some glaring concerns that need to be addressed which simply are not addressed through this legislation.
The problems within the immigration system are most strongly felt by those individuals who are part of the immigrant community and who have come to Canada recently. The comments they share with me are that if the government is concerned about fixing the system, why is it that it does not do anything when it sees a problem?
In essence, the individuals within the immigrant community are then painted with the same brush as the very few individuals who would cause problems within the system. They want the abuses to the immigration system to be addressed and fixed. They are, in many ways, finding their concerns falling on deaf ears.
I would like to point out one situation. This is an issue that has been brought up by opposition and by many people across the country, by lots of different groups. It is a situation that is happening in the Vancouver, British Columbia area right now having to do with people who are abusing the system because of a loophole.
Some individuals have come to Canada and have claimed refugee status falsely. As a result of that, they have abused the system. That is not the only problem. Many of the individuals who have falsely claimed refugee status have been selling drugs on the streets of Vancouver. Again, it is a small number of individuals.
This is a serious problem and it is having a huge impact in the downtown east side of Vancouver. It is spreading into the suburb areas around Vancouver, to the areas of New Westminster, Surrey and elsewhere. This is a concern that has been brought up over and over again. There appears to be very little response coming back in any substantive way from the minister.
Again I make the point that when someone knows something is wrong, when someone knows there is a problem, when they can see it staring them in the face and they can see the effect it is having on individual lives, on individual people, on the young people and others living in these communities, and yet they fail to take action, it is a dereliction of responsibility.
That is exactly the position that the current minister is in. There are individuals who are calling for changes, calling for something that I have suggested, which is an expedited process for those individuals who have been charged with drug trafficking.
Many of these individuals, prior to or upon their arrest for dealing drugs, have claimed refugee status. In our current immigration system they go into the mill. They go into the waiting line with all the other individuals to have their refugee status determined.
The problem is that there is no differentiation between those individuals who are flagrantly abusing the system and those individuals who are genuine refugees in need of Canada's protection. They all go into the same grouping.
It could take up to a year and a half or two years before anything is done to settle the claim the individuals have made. A simple answer to that problem would be to have an expedited process where those individuals who were brought up on these drug charges would be processed quickly to see whether they are truly refugees and then removed from the country if it is found that in fact they have made a false claim.
Why not do it quickly? Why not deal with the issue and solve the problem? It is something that the minister could do today. It is something she could do today if she had the willingness to do it.
I can only conclude that it is her lack of action, her lack of responsibility in moving on this issue and others that points to the fact that she is either unable or unwilling to make that change.
There are many other areas that fall into that same category, where there are individuals who are abusing our system, abusing the goodwill of Canadians, without any action being taken. Again, it is a small number of individuals who are causing the problem, the people who are abusing the system.
Word is out on the street internationally that Canada is an easy place to get to. Canada is an easy place to make a false claim. When a refugee claim is made, the claimant is entitled to all the rights of a citizen, apart from being able to vote. They have access to free medical care, welfare payments and legal aid. What is very insulting about this current situation is that these individuals are taking advantage of Canadians. They are taking advantage of us. Something could be done, but it is not being done, and that is unacceptable.
They are talking advantage of legitimate claimants. They are taking time and resources from the immigration department which could be used to deal with individuals who are truly refugees. Those resources are going to process individuals who are undeserving of our protection, who have committed criminal acts, who have made a false claim and who are not in need of the protection of this country. They are here for sometimes two or three years. I have heard of cases where individuals have been here for five to ten years. That is unconscionable and something needs to be done about it.
When we bring up these issues we are rebuffed by the government in a harsh manner. We are told that we are not supportive of immigration, which is patently false. I cannot emphasize that enough. The fact that we want to fix the system shows we care about immigration. We will fix the system, given the chance to do so, while government members sit idly, twiddling their thumbs, in the face of these issues. We will bring positive change. We will bring those things that need to be addressed and fixed to the forefront and deal with them quickly because they are of great concern.
A couple of government members have made statements like the following when we have brought up this issue. It is a glaring issue. There seems to be a contradiction. The Liberal member for Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, in a recent letter to his constituents, stated “I happen to believe that by deporting refugee claimants convicted of dealing drugs we would be taking a major step forward in the fight against the illegal sale of drugs. They should be deported immediately, with no review or appeal allowed to drag things out”. It seems a bit extreme to me that a government member would be suggesting that.
Other members of the government have said in committee that the official opposition does not support immigration. I cannot agree with that. It is patently false. We want the minister to move forward with positive change. If she is going to sit idly by and do nothing when these problems continue to happen over and over again, let her stand aside, let her government stand aside, because we will do the job. We will move forward with positive change and we will take care of the issues that Canadians are asking be dealt with, rather than having a government that sits idly on its hands and watches these things happen over and over again with absolutely zero response. That is unconscionable.
We will move forward in a positive manner and make the changes necessary to address not only this department but other departments in need of great change.
I could go on at length and name those areas but I do believe my time has drawn to a close.