Lucienne Robillard

[Immigration, February 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, it is worthwhile pointing out right at the start that the Immigration and Refugee Board is a quasijudiciary tribunal that is independent of the department and that the chairperson of the board has just taken a number of steps to step up productivity within the board.

That having been said, a bill is currently under study here in the House with a view to helping them work even more efficiently: Bill C-49. If the opposition gives us its support in moving this forward, it will be enabling us to help the board enhance its efficiency, in that only one board member will be required for cases to be heard in future.

With all these measures, I can assure you that everything is being done to try to improve turnaround time in the Immigration and Refugee Board.

[Immigration, December 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I would invite the member for Bourassa who is questioning my loyalty to my party to come and join our ranks. The least we can say is that the House is not unanimous on this issue.

I say again that we are going to look into it very seriously.

[Immigration, December 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I believe I have a better knowledge of my party's resolutions than the member for Bourassa. I was at the convention when this resolution was passed. Clearly, my department will follow through with it.

[Citizenship And Immigration, November 27th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I stated previously in this House that the study conducted at the centre in Vegreville was on the operations of the centre, not on the community of Vegreville per se, particularly since the study showed problems at the centre. The people of Vegreville themselves are not being judged.

The mayor of Vegreville himself, who took the time to read the report, concluded it was an internal review of the operations at the centre.

[Immigration, November 26th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, after this press conference, I asked department officials to meet the coalition in order to obtain further details of their very serious allegations. If these allegations are founded, we will act accordingly.

As for sending people back to Algeria, each case is carefully examined before a decision is made.

[Immigration, November 26th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I noticed the coalition held a press conference yesterday, which was attended by the hon. member for Bourassa. I read the summaries in the papers, but unfortunately, the coalition did not advise the minister, and has yet to advise the minister directly of these very serious allegations about the behaviour of certain immigration officers.

I would urge everyone, including the hon. member for Bourassa who joined this group, to communicate to the minister any details of the very serious allegations being made against the staff of the Department of Immigration.

[Citizenship And Immigration, November 22nd, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Edmonton North for that question which allows me to clarify the situation.

The purpose of that report was to evaluate problems in the operations at the centre in Vegreville and not to evaluate anything in the community of Vegreville. This was clear in the terms of reference given by the deputy minister.

The result of this study is very clear. It states problems in the centre. There is no judgment at all on the community of Vegreville. Let us be clear about that.

We all heard the comments of the mayor of Vegreville yesterday. I commend the mayor for taking the time to read the report before commenting. I commend him for his leadership in this matter. He concluded it was an internal review of the centre. That is why the deputy minister took action immediately at the centre.

[Questions On The Order Paper, November 21st, 1996]

Table 1 provides a statistical breakdown by category for persons granted immigrant visas and/or Minister's Permits to enter Canada without a selection interview. Figures cover only applicants processed for permanent residence at overseas missions. The figures are for the total number of persons, including spouses and dependent children.

Table 2 gives the number of persons for whom the interview was waived as a percentage of total persons issued immigrant visas or Minister's Permits.

No statistics are maintained for applicants for visitor visas, student authorizations, employment authorizations or returning resident permits who are issued visas and/or permits without an interview.

Table 1

Table 2

[Questions On The Order Paper, November 21st, 1996]

A maximum score of 10 units for Personal Suitability is possible under the current points system for assessment of independent immigration applicants. An independent applicant must score at least 70 points to pass the assessment. By comparison, the maximum scores available for the other selection criteria are:

1. Education 16 2. Specific Vocational Preparation 18 3. Experience 8 4. Occupational Demand 10 5. Arranged Employment or Designated Occupation 10 6. Demographic Factor 8 7. Age 10 8. Knowledge of English and French Languages 15

Since the point rating system is only applied to members of the Independent and Business Classes of immigrants, neither the Personal Suitability criterion nor any of the other criteria in the point rating system are applied to sponsored family members.

Question No. 85-

[Questions On The Order Paper, November 21st, 1996]

(a) During the recent confrontation between the governments of China and Taiwan, no special arrangements were made or contemplated at Taiwan to authorize the transportation of immigrants and visitors to Canada who had not been examined by authorized Canadian immigration officials.

(b) No such applicants were permitted to proceed to Canada without properly conducted examinations by Canadian immigration officials. However, following normal procedures, an oral interview of an applicant is only conducted by immigration officials if there is a need to clarify the admissibility of an applicant to Canada. If such a determination can be made using written documentation then an interview may not be required.

Question No. 84-