Citizenship and Immigration committee  Of course it will. I'm sure it will; yes, absolutely.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  It will depend on how the minister decides to handle that. It could be done by giving a list, saying that any of the countries of the European Union are safe, or it could be done by not listing any country, except when you do get a problem, like the Czech Republic, or Mexico, or

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think it leads to abuse because it's wide open. That is to say, we're one of the few countries in the world that allows anyone, from any country in the world, to come and claim that they're persecuted and then let them have an opportunity to enter before a quasi-judicial tribun

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think you need designated countries to try to ensure that the system fundamentally works quickly. Look at the Czech Republic. They're very upset that their citizens need tourist visas to come to Canada. They have a problem with Roma, as do most eastern European countries, but

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I don't think we are putting our values at stake here. France, Germany, England are countries that are democratic. They all have a system that we're now proposing—much more severe than anything we are proposing now. In France, if you appeal, you leave; then the appeal is held whe

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Well, we don't forget about it. In the system that is designed now, the initial level of decision-making will be done by a public servant, it's true. As a former public servant, I don't really see anything wrong with that. They will be able to sort out, one would hope, the ones w

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes. I agree with that too.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Apart from my fellow panellists, I think it's generally recognized that our current asylum system is seriously flawed and has lost public confidence. Its key weakness is it cannot distinguish between those who genuinely need our protection and those who