Citizenship and Immigration committee  No, we just have brief opening remarks.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to thank the committee for having invited departmental officials from Citizenship and Immigration to speak to you on the issue you are studying, that is to say Bill C-280, an Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. As you s

Citizenship and Immigration committee  You're really asking me two questions, and I'll try to answer both. In terms of the challenges, yes, of course there are challenges in running any system. What we've tried to identify today are specific challenges that I think are unique, in terms of our having been asked about

Citizenship and Immigration committee  As an official, I'm not sure my personal views about that are germane.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Well, I can talk to you about the challenges, but in terms of policy advice, in terms of the way the system should or shouldn't be, the position of the department and, as a consequence, my position is that we think the current structure we have, including the single decision-make

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Frankly, that's not been an issue. We've been focusing on the implications of Bill C-280. You're going to hear from the IRB later today. They may be unhappy with me for saying this, but I think really it's an important question for the IRB in terms of the implications it would ha

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm not intimately familiar with the website reference, Madame Faille. There are two components to the answer. First of all, the government is much broader than the Department of Citizenship and Immigration. The government makes a decision in terms of proclamation and that deci

Citizenship and Immigration committee  It is up to the government to make this decision, but one must add that it is not only the officials or the people who work at the Department of Citizenship and Immigration who make it. Second, I would say that the current situation is different from that of 2002. For example,

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Frankly, that's a question for the IRB. It's clear there are vacancies and the government has taken steps to fill those vacancies. That's a process that's ongoing.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  That issue was raised in December. We answered a question on the capacity...

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I understand the question.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I understand.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  This issue was raised in December, and we gave a clear answer. We said that the people who make these decisions had the necessary qualifications. Micheline could perhaps give you some more details, but in my opinion, the decision-makers do have the capacity, and frankly I think

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I repeat clearly that the people doing this work have the necessary qualifications to do the work appropriately. We should not challenge the quality of their decisions.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  No, no.