Immigration And Refugee Board  Mr. Speaker, my question was: Who negotiated the settlement with Mr. Schelew?

Immigration And Refugee Board  Mr. Speaker, the answer was included in my first response: Government officials.

Immigration And Refugee Board  Mr. Speaker, can the minister tell us which government officials negotiated the settlement with Mr. Schelew and what his own role was in those negotiations?

Immigration And Refugee Board  Mr. Speaker, I repeat that the negotiations were nothing untoward, nothing special. They were in keeping with normal standard procedures between government and public servants and those appointed through governor in council and no, I was not involved.

Immigration  Many questions remain unanswered and the whole thing is starting to look more and more like a government cover-up operation. After the vice-chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board resigned, not proceeding with the inquiry has saved the minister from having to answer legitimate questions about the serious allegations made against Mr. Schelew. The minister can no longer dissociate himself from the questionable, to say the least, methods used by his government to make the problem disappear, especially since it is not known who authorized the Treasury Board to give him $100,000 in severance pay.

Immigration And Refugee Board  Mr. Speaker, the government appointed exemplary individuals to serve on the IRB. The member wants to have a general, open season inquiry on what? Neither the government nor the minister gives direction on what is appropriate or not appropriate in terms of adjudication. We have not given any advice nor threshold levels on what should be adjudicated.

Immigration And Refugee Board  Mr. Speaker, it is very obvious the member does not know the first thing about the IRB or how it operates. It is painfully obvious they are not concerned about the IRB, the institution. They are not concerned about Canada's position vis-a-vis international commitments. This is the same party that wants to do away with the IRB and therefore break its international obligation.

Immigration And Refugee Board  I appeal to members once again to make their questions and answers shorter.

Immigration And Refugee Board  Mr. Speaker, in terms of trying to build up an institution and trying to make the system work, we have not had one constructive recommendation in over a year from that party. All it is interested in is trying to exploit a situation that, granted, was not easy for the IRB. Again I say it would have been completely unfair to tarnish every member of the IRB and tarnish the entire institution with the same wide brush.

Immigration And Refugee Board  Mr. Speaker, one thing is obvious to Canadians with regard to the Schelew affair: the matter has been closed. We have no answers and it has cost us another $100,000. The facts of the matter are clear. To avoid any sense of avoiding the issue to have been brought before this cancelled inquiry there needs to be a full explanation by the minister.

Immigration And Refugee Board  Mr. Speaker, Reform Party members would not recognize facts if they tripped over them. The facts are very clear. An inquiry was called pursuant to section 63 of the Immigration Act with a reference to look into the alleged conduct of an individual. The board continues to work and discharges a very important mandate.

Immigration And Refugee Board  Mr. Speaker, Canadians should be appalled at the way this government does business. The minister appoints a good friend to the IRB who is then the subject of some very serious allegations. The minister orders a judicial inquiry into his friend's actions, citing concerns about the integrity of the IRB and the public's perception of a cover up.

Immigration And Refugee Board  Mr. Speaker, it is very unfair to characterize Mr. Schelew or anybody else as a crony of the government. That is simply not the case. The whole question of the inquiry was simply to the alleged conduct of one individual. I have said to this Chamber and publicly that there is the agency review, which is the review of government-wide commissions and agencies.

Immigration And Refugee Board  Mr. Speaker, with reference to the first part of the question, I only found out the details of the settlement on Friday of last week. That was the day the judge suggested the inquiry should not proceed. With respect to the IRB, I do not believe the party across the way is concerned about building up this institution, but we are on this side of the House.

Immigration And Refugee Board  Mr. Speaker, it is absurd to suggest that the government has anything to cover up or hide. Looking back at the process, I received a number of complaints. I gave those complaints to the chairperson of the board. The board recommended a course of action, namely an inquiry. The government, after thoughtful consideration of both the chairperson's and Mr.