Citizenship and Immigration committee  As I mentioned in my presentation at the beginning, in the interest of women who are seeking asylum, if the designated country of origin were to be implemented, we would require that special attention be given to countries that do have problems, especially with regard to discriminating on the basis of gender.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I do not think it's fair, but again I think we have to be careful that if we do accelerate the determination system, we do it in a fair manner.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes, absolutely. I think that's quite a logical answer. Once the process has started, if people realize they ultimately may not have made the right decision, there's no recourse. They absolutely have to follow through with their decision and file an asylum claim. In those circumstances, especially if those people come from a designated safe country, they will be removed, even if considerations would have to be taken into account in view of their personal situation.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think it would be a reasonable measure. What is a greater concern for the Centre des femmes immigrantes de Montréal is the fact that no recourse is possible once the application is refused. If the file could at least be reopened by another entity in the event of special circumstances, that would not be a problem for us.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes, it's the last paragraph.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Women who make a gender-based claim and individuals who file a claim based on sexual orientation or identity will be the major victims of this bill, particularly since it would prohibit access for asylum claimants to humanitarian considerations and to risk assessment before removal for a period of 12 months following the inadmissibility of the claim.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Good evening. I would like to start by saying that the Immigrant Women's Centre of Montreal applauds the present government's efforts to amend the refugee determination process. We understand its priorities in making the asylum system more efficient. I agree with the minister that a near-58% refusal rate of asylum seekers over the last two years is wasteful, and an average waiting period of 19 months before first hearing is unacceptable.