Citizenship and Immigration committee  Could I just add something? Yes, we do speak to victims. We speak to people who are victims of very serious offences overseas. We saw the case of Leon Mugesera, who was a Rwandan accused of crimes against humanity. We have spoken to many of his victims. There was a case of Dési

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think our justice system is generally fair and compassionate, but what we're doing here is denying people access to certain levels of justice and to certain levels of appeal.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm going to ask my colleague for help on this, but there was a case recently in Montreal where a very seriously mentally disturbed man was killed in an altercation with the police. He was an Iranian refugee. He had been recognized as a refugee. I don't think he was a citizen; no

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Do we have time for another example?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I would argue that one really would have to look at this. There has to be some discretion to be able to look exactly at the humanitarian considerations. I would submit to you that some children who came here at a very young age do not know that they are not citizens because it'

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Without wanting to pull the rug from under my colleague's feet, I would like to answer that question. Here is the problem. If the act is amended so as to catch very dangerous criminals, as you claim, it will end up catching people such as those Mr. Goldman described. That net i

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. My thanks to the committee for inviting us. I will start in French and then my colleague will continue in English. The Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes is a group that has existed since 1979.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  May I answer? I agree with everything Janet Dench said, but I would also say that you can't first fix the system and then bring the appeal. The appeal is part of fixing the system. You bring in the appeal, you put in the necessary resources, and then you look simultaneously at s

Citizenship and Immigration committee  If necessary.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  May I answer?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I was given the statistic at a meeting last week with the Immigration and Refugee Board that about 65% of cases that are refused go to the Federal Court, ask for leave. Of those who ask for leave, very few are accepted for leave. Of those who are accepted for leave, very few have

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I agree with that, and I also think it has to be done now. However, it must not be done without resources. There absolutely have to be adequate resources. The bill already provides for time for obtaining resources. As long ago as 2002, draft regulations were being considered. We

Citizenship and Immigration committee  To further underscore, because somehow there is a perception.... We could be doing public education in the other direction. Every human being is a human being, as General Dallaire says. When we truly believe that every human being is a human being, their status is secondary to th

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Good morning. Thank you for inviting us. Briefly, the Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes is a coalition of 137 member organizations throughout Quebec. Collectively, we have over 35 years of experience in services on the ground,