Mr. Speaker, I have said that I was favourable to the auditor general's conclusion that an in-depth review of the refugee determination process was necessary, and that is what we are going to do.
House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2006, with 46% of the vote.
Refugees December 11th, 1997
Mr. Speaker, I have said that I was favourable to the auditor general's conclusion that an in-depth review of the refugee determination process was necessary, and that is what we are going to do.
Immigration December 3rd, 1997
Mr. Speaker, it is worthwhile pointing out to start with that there is no comment in the auditor general's report on the fee charged to immigrants and refugees for the right to settle in Canada.
I must say in this connection that, according to our studies, we have penalized no one wishing to settle in this country, because we have set up a system of loans accessible to everyone who cannot make the payment themselves, a system that is working very well.
Immigration Appeal Board December 2nd, 1997
Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that my Reform colleague reread the auditor general's report, where he states in fact that we have to be careful not to make piecemeal changes to the system, but that we should instead consider it as a whole because it is a very complex process. And that is exactly what we will be doing.
Immigration Appeal Board December 2nd, 1997
Mr. Speaker, I would like to state first of all that we welcome the auditor general's report on the determination of refugee status, where he recommends that we review that process completely. That is what we will do and it is with that aim that an advisory group will be tabling a report and recommendations in December of this year. Therefore we will be able to use that to change the process.
As for the problem of removals, it is true that we are having problems in this area, but I would like to mention that compared to last year, removals have increased by 37%.
Questions On The Order Paper November 26th, 1997
a) The number of permits issued for each year from 1993 to 1996 is as follows:
Year>Number
1993>10,069
1994>7,263
1995>5,482
1996>4,007
The number of permits issued in 1997 will be reported to Parliament by the minister as required by subsection 37(7) of the Immigration Act.
b) All cases must meet this condition. The reasons that compel the department to issue permits vary. Often the presence of the permit recipient is required to help workers in Canada produce goods and services, e.g. to deliver goods to a manufacturer or to provide training. Hastening or allowing family reunification in special circumstances, e.g. pregnancy of an immigrating spouse, while continuing processing applications for immigrant visas or landing is another typical reason. They are issued for humanitarian and compassionate reasons in order to allow individuals who would otherwise be inadmissible to enter Canada. The department does not issue permits unless the risk to Canadian society of the recipient's presence in Canada is minimal.
c) The most often cited prohibiting section of the Immigration Act for permits issued in each year from 1993 to 1996 is A 19(2)(d). This section describes people who “cannot or do not fulfil or comply with any of the conditions or requirements” of immigration legislation or any orders or directions lawfully made or given under the legislation. It is a very broad class of inadmissibility. Permit holders in this class are not inadmissible for any of the other reasons specified in section 19 of the Immigration Act, e.g. medical, criminal or security reasons.
d) No, the minister does not personally review each case of permit issuance.
e) The minister has delegated authority to issue permits to the positions listed in Instrument I-1 attached. In cases of medical or serious criminal inadmissibility there are restrictions on the delegation of authority. These restrictions ensure permit issuance is monitored by CIC's headquarters.
f) If the permit recipient applied for permanent residence, the nature and extent of background checks are identical to those for immigrant applicants, i.e., medical, security and criminality. If permit recipients are seeking temporary entry and are inadmissible for criminal acts, police records are checked. If permit recipients are seeking temporary entry and are inadmissible for medical reasons, they will have undergone a medical examination.
g) 16,699 permits for 11,433 persons have expired and been renewed since January 1, 1993. Of these permits only 3,781 were still valid on October 28, 1997.
h) The average period of renewals since January 1, 1993 has been 72 weeks or 506 days.
i) Only 570 of the people whose permits have been renewed since January 1, 1993 have been in Canada for longer than 10 years.
I-1 Delegation of authority under sections 37 of the Immigration Act
National Headquarters
Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations Director General, Enforcement Director General, Case Managment Director, Security Review Director, Organized Crime Director, Case Review
Regions in Canada
Regional Executive Directors/Directors General Directors General/Directors, Immigration Area Managers Managers, Branch Managers and Assistant Managers Canada Immigration Centres Mangers, Assistant Managers, Case Processing Centres Operations Supervisors, Mississauga
B.C./Yukon Region
Managers: Inland Operations, Port of Entry Operations, Hearings and Appeals
Overseas
Officers in charge of visa offices outside Canada
a) In the case of persons seeking to come into Canada, persons who are members of the inadmissible class described in paragraph 19(2)(d) of the Immigration Act and of no other inadmissible class;
b) In the case of persons in Canada, persons with respect to whom a report has been or may be made under paragraph 27(2)(a) by reason of the person being a member of the inadmissible class described in paragraph 19(2)(d), or under paragraphs 27(2)(b) or (e), and under no other provision of the Immigration Act.
I also authorize these same persons to extend, pursuant to subsection 37(4) of the act, a permit issued to the said person.
Regions in Canada
Senior Immigration Examining Officers Supervisors of Immigration Counsellors, Case Presenting Officers, or Examining Officers, Enforcement Program Coordinator Supervisors of CIC Operations, British Columbia/Yukon Territory Region Team Leaders, Case Processing Centres
Quebec Region
Expertise officers
National Headquarters
Deputy Minister Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations
Canadian Wheat Board Act November 19th, 1997
From downtown Montreal.
Department Of Citizenship And Immigration November 19th, 1997
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, like many other federal departments, has undergone a profound restructuring of its services on a nation-wide scale, and each of the regions has gone about attaining the objectives of this restructuring in its own way.
That having been said, certain employees dissatisfied with the approach taken by the Montreal office have appealed to the Public Service Commission and we intend to respect its decision.
Immigration November 17th, 1997
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is referring to an internal report produced by one of our immigration officers working in the war crimes division. This is one of the actions we have taken. We have established a special division within the Department of Citizenship and Immigration to closely monitor the situation and first try to determine whether we have, in this country, individuals who could be suspected of relatively recent war crimes. We did that and, second, we have taken action against those individuals who were identified. Several cases were investigated. More than 70 claimants were returned to their country of origin and more than 270—
Immigration November 7th, 1997
Mr. Speaker, I understand my colleague from Hochelaga—Maisonneuve to be requesting the reopening of the Canada-Quebec agreement so we could consider the matter. I am quite prepared to do so.
Immigration November 7th, 1997
Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Hochelaga—Maisonneuve must surely know that, despite the agreement with Quebec, which is responsible for selecting its immigrants, the Government of Canada remains responsible for their admissibility and must therefore ensure they are healthy and represent no threat. So it incurs costs in the admission of immigrants going to Quebec too.
That said, should my colleague propose that we review the matter in the context of the Canada-Quebec agreement, I am prepared to do so.