Mr. Speaker, I am certainly pleased to have the opportunity to speak to the motion presented by the hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway. While not a member of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, he is often a participant and is there to observe and does put his time in to assist his colleague from Trinity—Spadina in their work at committee. But today, this motion is calling for a moratorium on deportations to Sri Lanka and making sure there is a rush put on to see family class sponsorships and refugee claims from the danger zone.
Let me be quite clear at the outset, although we are sensitive to the challenges faced by Sri Lankans and we extend our wholehearted sympathies to the victims of this conflict, this government does not support this motion. The reason we do not support it is really not that complicated. In fact, it is irresponsible and it is overboard. Our government already has robust measures in place to address the legitimate aspects of the hon. member's concerns.
Protection of people in need and family reunification are two of the primary priorities of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. When serious conflict is occurring, or a natural disaster has taken place that directly affects the relatives of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, the Government of Canada responds with a humane and flexible approach to ensure that families are reunited as quickly as possible. Special measures are generally not necessary for dealing with serious conflicts or natural disasters.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada already has all of the necessary legislative and regulatory authority to deal with exceptional circumstances such as these. Applications from applicants in the danger zone who contact the mission in Colombo are expedited. Applicants appearing in person at the mission can get an immediate review of their application and if possible, a decision within two days. Humanitarian and compassionate grounds are also being examined to facilitate approval of applications.
Let me deal with the hon. member's first point, “--the government should declare a moratorium on deportations to Sri Lanka--”. Many of the people who we are deporting are people who pose a threat to Canadians. The Canada Border Services Agency prioritizes the deportation of criminals and other individuals who pose a threat to Canada. It would be deeply irresponsible to enact a policy that would allow these people to stay here in Canada indefinitely.
Canadians of Sri Lankan descent should not have to fear the possibility that people who have committed war crimes might be allowed to live in their neighbourhood. They should not have to feel powerless when they report these people to the authorities and are told that, no, we cannot remove these people from our country no matter what they did. Canadians of all backgrounds should not have to fear criminals from other countries. Canada should maintain, wherever possible, the right to remove foreigners who commit crimes from our country.
This motion could make Canada a haven for fugitives from justice and organized crime figures who would exploit a misguided policy to prey on Canadians. The people who this motion addresses are people who simply do not qualify as refugees or who are inadmissible to Canada. People who have their refugee claims denied have access to an exhaustive series of processes to make sure that no one who is a refugee is denied refugee status in our country. People who are inadmissible are inadmissible for a reason and should not be in our country.
We already have a refugee system that provides ample protection to people who are at a risk in their homelands. All individuals under removal order have the opportunity to apply for a pre-removal risk assessment. This assessment which stays the removal order is performed by citizenship and immigration officers and ensures that no one in need of protection is removed from Canada. These decisions are subject to review by the Federal Court of Canada and if the court elects to review a decision, the removal continues to be stayed until a final decision is rendered.
All individuals under removal order are entitled to apply through the various immigration channels available to them. For example, foreign nationals may at any time apply to remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. This provision allows for the flexibility to approve deserving cases not anticipated in the legislation.
Let me explain that.
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act allows people who have not met the requirements for permanent residence to apply to remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. This provision allows for the unique circumstances of each individual to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Humanitarian and compassionate considerations could include, for example, the time that individuals have already spent in Canada, their establishment in this country, their integration into Canadian society, and the best interest of any children directly involved. An application for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds is a mechanism for people with deserving and compelling circumstances.
When the members opposite were in government, they understood this. That is why they continued to allow the deportation of dangerous individuals to Sri Lanka during this long-running conflict.
Let me now address the second part of the motion we are debating today:
the government should...expedite any family class sponsorships...from the danger zone.
Once more, this is redundant. To put it clearly, as the member for Vancouver Kingsway should already know, this is already happening.
Family reunification is a key priority for the government. The permanent resident applications of spouses and dependent children are processed on a priority basis. What is more, in this case, the mission in Colombo is already expediting applications from Sri Lankan individuals migrating from the danger zone. Applicants who appear in person at that mission receive an immediate file review to identify outstanding requirements, and usually receive same-day or next-day processing if their file is close to completion.
I want to now address the third part of the motion regarding expediting refugee claims for persons from the danger zone.
Canada has one of the best refugee protection systems in the world. Refugee claims are assessed on a case-by-case basis by the Immigration and Refugee Board. Furthermore, a number of appointments were recently made to the board, and that is again more concrete proof of this government's commitment to ensure faster decision-making on all refugee claims.
As one final point, Citizenship and Immigration Canada must strike a careful balance between dual objectives. On the one hand it strives to facilitate the admission to Canada of those individuals who are in need of protection or family reunification, but on the other hand, it must work to protect Canada and Canadian society. The removal from Canada of those who do not meet our admissibility requirements is a very necessary part of the protection function, and so is the rigorous screening of individuals that occurs during the processing of applications both in Canada and abroad.
In principle, Canada removes all persons who are found to be inadmissible to Canada. However, in exceptional circumstances, the Minister of Public Safety has the right to impose a temporary suspension of removals to a particular area or country.
Although Sri Lanka is not currently one of the countries on which a temporary suspension of removals has been imposed, I repeat that no one is removed from Canada without consideration of the individual's need for protection.
Also I would like to note that by their very nature, asylum seekers tend to come from countries experiencing turmoil or where they would individually be in a dangerous situation. Our system works best when we process individuals fleeing from violence and persecution equally.
I repeat that his motion is unnecessary. Measures are already in place that allow people in exceptional and compelling circumstances such as these to remain in our country, and that is why more permanent resident applications from individuals migrating from the danger zone are already being expedited.
Our government and our caucus has taken a reasonable position on this issue. We are committed to helping the people of Sri Lanka; there is no question about that. But I would hope that the members here realize and agree with the responsible approach of the government. We will continue to defend those who are in need and are seeking asylum based on real and true persecution.