Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to rise this evening on behalf of the coalition as well as the people of Dauphin--Swan River to take part in this debate.
This is the time for supporting all of our men and women in uniform and their families, our armed forces, our law enforcement and security agencies like the RCMP and CSIS. This battle is fought internationally and on the home front.
I would like to talk about the issues of home front security. As the critic for the PC/DR coalition on citizenship and immigration I would like to preface my statements with these comments. Canada is a land of immigrants. Canada was built by immigrants. Canada's future will be dependent on our immigration policies of today as well as tomorrow. I believe that we need to continue an open door policy to immigration welcoming both the fortunate and the unfortunate to our country.
Screening at the front door only makes the country more secure. I have suggested this to the minister over the last year. What a reverse on her part when she just recently agreed to finance screening proposals.
In our debate about terrorists we all need to separate the legal immigrants and refugees whom this country needs, from the illegal asylum seekers whom we do not need. It takes years to process the applications of legal immigrants or refugees, unlike asylum seekers who are really queue jumpers. This is very unfair. As an immigrant myself, I believe these illegal and fraudulent asylum seekers give all legal immigrants in the country a bad name. This is the time to separate the two issues, otherwise as we have seen, there will be potential backlash. There is no doubt Canada cannot tolerate new racism. Let us learn from the lessons of our history.
This week is citizenship week. The theme is “Canada, we all belong”. How appropriate. Canadians need to come together as one family as we celebrate our multicultural makeup. We also need to plug the holes in our immigration system if our country is to be secure from terrorism.
Let me make a few comments on the new maple leaf card the immigration minister proposed. The new maple leaf card will replace the IMM 1000, the current document which permanent residents carry as identification. The IMM 1000 is a paper document and is susceptible to duplication.
The maple leaf card is said to be tamper resistant and contains information as to the identity of the person and other vital information. It will also have a photo of the person it belongs to on it. This is a good move. The card has been in the works for more than 10 years. Opposition parties have asked for it to be approved, which it was last year, but it was put on hold due to lack of funds to implement it. This card is for permanent residents. I need to say that again. This card is for permanent residents, not refugee claimants and asylum seekers. This card will be for use similar to the green card issued to permanent residents of the United States.
My question for the minister is, how will this new card help screen out the potential terrorists and asylum seekers?
Let me make some comments about the front end screening of refugee claimants. Both CSIS and the RCMP have repeatedly told the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration that this type of screening is impossible without adequate staff and international co-operation. All the high tech machinery in the world will not be able to screen a refugee claimant who does not have any identification on their person when they come to Canada. That is precisely the point. The people who apply for refugee status are usually the ones who have no identification on them. For some reason they seem to be able to get on an aircraft at the point of departure with identification but by the time they reach Canada their identification has somehow disappeared.
CIC has the capacity now to screen individuals as they come into Canada but do not employ it. Immigration officials at the point of entry decide if individuals are eligible to apply for refugee status, then refer those who qualify to the Immigration and Refugee Board. According to a 1997 auditor general's report, more than 99% of those who apply are deemed eligible.
Hours after the air strikes began in Afghanistan, 50 people arrived in Toronto claiming to be refugees. Some were alleged to be Afghani and Pakistani nationals, according to the media reports quoting immigration official sources. Some did not have any identification yet were all deemed eligible to apply for refugee status and released into Canada. The fact that they did not have IDs should have been enough reason to detain these individuals until their identity could be discovered.
Recently a Pakistani national arrived in B.C. with an obviously doctored passport and travel documents. This is a breach of Canadian law. However, this person was deemed eligible and released into Canada on a refugee claim. No one can board an international flight without identification and in some cases, travel documents. The fact that people continue to arrive in Canada without such documentation should be grounds for immediate detention.
Canada should be seeking to remove those individuals from recognized UN refugee camps rather than taking those who show up at our doors. The average legitimate refugee cannot afford the cost of travelling to Canada. Canada has a proud tradition of taking in those in need of help and we should continue to do so.
I would like to make some comments about targeting security risks through detention. In 2000-01 some 8,790 persons were detained for an average of 16 days under the Immigration Act as their identity was in question upon entry. In 2000 the minister personally approved 3,989 otherwise inadmissible individuals, most hardened criminals, to enter and remain in Canada for a period of time. These 3,989 people were obvious security risks to Canada as without a permit from the minister they could not enter Canada. With no entry or exit data kept on persons coming to or leaving Canada, it is impossible to tell if those who are ordered out actually leave.
In terms of increasing removals, the current Immigration Act allows for removal or deportation from Canada. As I said, without entry or exit data it is impossible for CIC or anyone else to know precisely how many persons are in Canada illegally. In fact, it was estimated that about 200,000 foreign nationals are in this country.
The minister made note of more than 8,600 persons deported from Canada in 2000. What she did not say is that there are more than 15,000 unaccounted for deportees and her department has no idea where these people are. In fact, today the department indicated that there are warrants written for 27,000 foreign nationals who should not even be here. Removal or deportation would be much easier if there were better systems for tracking the whereabouts of individuals claiming refugee status or those seeking permanent residency. In other words, the home front certainly needs a lot of work and improvement.
I would like to make a couple of other comments about the government's reluctance to use sky marshals. There is no guarantee that all ground inspections will prevent terrorists from boarding our airlines. There are two provisions the government must consider if the travelling public, including politicians, are to feel secure in the air. One is to secure the cockpit area with bulletproof doors and the other is to have undercover air marshals on board. Certainly we could use the $850 million the government spent on the long gun registration scheme, which is an utter failure, to pay for this implementation.
In closing, fighting terrorism begins at home. We must plug all the holes. We need to secure our borders, welcome those who around the world are seeking a better life and keep away those who wish to do us harm.