Mr. Speaker, from time to time, immigration makes the headlines. This is especially true lately. Whenever this happens, there is always someone to say that Canada should amend its immigration laws to fix the problem of the day.
Since I came here, we have all heard this on various occasions in the House. However, the time comes when we have to look at the whole picture. Instead of asking for a particular amendment to fix a particular problem, we must overhaul the whole legislation. We have to rethink the way we do things.
Essentially, this is what the government has done with Bill C-31. After extensive consultations, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration recommended that we, parliamentarians, approve a new legal framework for immigration and the protection of refugees in Canada. We are not talking about tinkering. We are talking about a whole new act in tune with today's needs and realities.
I want to spend a few minutes today covering some of the fundamental reasons that Canada needs Bill C-31.
I will be sharing my time with the member for Chatham—Kent Essex.
I want to talk about why the very structure of the act should be changed. Much has changed over the almost 25 years since parliament passed the current Immigration Act and over that time there have been many amendments to the act. In fact, parliament has amended the Immigration Act more than 30 times since the late 1970s. Even with all those changes, we still have issues to address, issues that the bill does address.
Changing attitudes and changing court decisions have obliged governments to see family relationships in a broader light.
In fact, we in the House passed a law not long ago which recognized our view of how family relationships have changed. As a result, Bill C-31 allows the sponsorship of common law partners as members of the family class.
Consistent with modernizing benefits legislation, regulations will then define common law partners as including same sex relationships.
Moreover, we are now living in a world where smuggling immigrants and trafficking in human beings has become a very lucrative activity for ignoble and unscrupulous individuals. This past summer, we all read in the papers about the arrival of hundreds of people being used by individuals who make money on their backs.
We are not only talking about people being smuggled into Canada, we are also talking about people who are trapped in clandestine forced labour by criminals. The bill before us today deals directly and harshly with such criminals. These illegal migrants are just one segment of the growing number of migrant workers throughout the world.
On the good side of the coin, Canadians must review the way our government encourages people who could contribute significantly to our economy to come to Canada. We must see to it that our country continues to take advantage of qualified immigrants coming to Canada in a world where competition is fierce to attract those people.
We must not forget that, as a government, our first responsibility is to Canadians and to the standard of living they want to have.
This bill opens our doors wider. Overall, we need administrative processes that yield good results in a more efficient manner. This bill serves the taxpayers better in more than one respect while preserving the basic principles of equity and a good decision-making process.
It is impossible to patch up the existing legislation to integrate all these changes as well as the other changes that will stem from passage of Bill C-31. The time has come to pass new legislation.
What kind of legislation will serve Canada best in the very volatile world of immigration and refugee protection? Events have already shown us that we need a flexible, responsive piece of legislation, not a cumbersome, rigid law.
To answer that question, I want to turn to the very structure of the act, which this bill would enshrine in law.
This is framework legislation. In other words, it sets out the general principles and policies on which our efforts in the area of immigration and refugee protection must be based. It says clearly that the procedures for the application of these principles and policies will be generally found in regulations.
Some claim, and I think they are wrong, that we are preventing Canadians from reviewing these regulations and giving their input. In fact, there already are many regulations and I can assure my colleagues that the regulatory process in Canada is very transparent.
There are measures to be taken before any proposed regulations take effect. Members and interest groups must be informed and consulted in that regard. And, of course, with tools like the Internet, the government gives Canadians the opportunity to examine existing and proposed regulations and to make comments.
Even so, not everything can or should be in regulations. That is certainly true of something as important to Canadians as immigration and refugee protection.
Canadian immigration policies are built on three pillars. First, we are committed to opening our doors to families and to reunifying families to the extent possible and consistent with Canada's interests.
Second, we are committed to opening our doors to people who can make an economic contribution to this country.
Third, we are willing to meet our obligations to protect people fleeing persecution and to continue our commitment to provide assistance to those in need of protection consistent with Canada's humanitarian ideals and traditions.
Those are the principles underlying the current legislation that will also underlie the new legislation. However, it is important to note that they have never been included in the law before but now will be.
The framework legislation is based on those principles. It integrates the substantive rules that determine who should not be eligible for settlement in Canada. The bill would guarantee fundamental rights. It clearly indicates the criteria used for the determination of refugee status. It clearly defines the power of arrest. Under Bill C-31, the elements that should be included in the act would be included.
The government's decision to introduce the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act as framework legislation is easy to explain. A brief overview of the comments on the current Immigration Act is enough.
Many consultations were held in the last few years on the new thrust this legislation should have. The opinions vary on many aspects, but nobody claims that the current legislation is a model of clarity and good public administration.
If we want usable and responsive legislation that can be understood, we have to put into law what ought to be in law. We should leave to regulation what is properly left to the regulatory process.
We will therefore be able to adjust rapidly to meet the needs of Canadians while ensuring that those rights and principles are duly respected. Canadians will have the opportunity to voice their opinion, which is as it should be in matters of public interest.
I will be proud to support this bill when we vote. I urge my colleagues from all parties to do so.
