Citizenship and Immigration committee  The thing is this. I agree that more can be done. In 1989 when the identical questions and concerns were raised, they wanted a fast system, with expeditious decision-making. Guess what delivered it? At that time, there was a federal budget to directly compensate the refugee lawye

Citizenship and Immigration committee  First, no change will bring us down to zero intake. So if the expectation is that there's a quick fix to cure all of the problems, jettison that idea. Imposing a visa has a direct effect in reducing refugee intake. Look at Mexico. Look at our friends in Europe. However, did tha

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Oh, that pesky charter, eh?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  It is a tongue-in-cheek question and it merited a fun reply. Yes, we would love to have the ability to expeditiously determine every case, but we're constrained by resources and the physical time required to get things done. Yes, we can improve things. The point is that Bill C-31

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Traditionally people in fear of persecution will not arrive with appropriate documentation. That's just the normal course of the refugee determination processes globally. Yet somehow, over the decades, that gets sorted out.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I've fielded this question for almost a quarter century now. No matter how much money or technology you throw at the problem of illicit migration to Canada, every year since World War II, 30,000 to 40,000 people have entered illegally without ID, seeking access to Canada. Have yo

Citizenship and Immigration committee  With all due respect I must say no. More factors have to be taken into account. Assessing the individual circumstance of each case, as we have now, is a system that works and is a model internationally. Can it be tightened? Yes, by adding more resources to that adjudication proc

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Nothing. We have an ample supply of overseas refugee claimants who deserve to be in Canada but cannot come to Canada because there are limits to our generosity. We do our fair share. We're a gold medal refugee determination system country. We should take more. We may take more i

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Well, missing in the analysis of Bill C-31, and probably because of the shortage of time as pointed out in testimony, is what Canada does do alongside Bill C-31. The budget provides resources, more resources in an era of restraint, for intelligence gathering and sharing overseas

Citizenship and Immigration committee  With my good friend, Mr. Collacott, for over 20 years, I have been hard-pressed to disagree with him publicly on any matter. However, he may not be wrong, as he has access to information far superior to my low level means. If he is indicating that the criminal element internation

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'll tell you something—

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I would say—and you can call on resources for this one—that within three days of arrival, the potential threats among the passengers on that boat would have been identified. Since 9/11 billions have been poured internationally into the intelligence framework. Ours are friends.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I left in the term “attorney” knowing that the Chair would raise the point, and in connection with this answer, that's why I put it in. Coincidentally, out of the last, say, five marine arrivals, at least three arrived within three weeks of a new immigration minister picking up

Citizenship and Immigration committee  —and we're footing the bill. Also, in law today, in the European Union, a claimant from a European country can buy a train ticket, walk, or fly to an adjacent country and legally live and work there. Why do they need to immigrate to Canada using the refugee ticket when they can h

Citizenship and Immigration committee  As my colleague addressed it, it seems a little thin on detail, but generally in Canada as yet, we have no official exit control system in place. We carefully scrutinize the ins and outs with our partners internationally. I don't want to reach the stage where everyone has to ca