On April 20, 2009, Private Members’ Bill C-291 (An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (coming into force of sections 110, 111 and 171) was debated in Parliament. The following is a transcript of the debate:
Mr. Speaker, once again, I would like to state the government’s opposition to Bill C-291, the bill that seeks to establish the refugee appeal division.
Hon. members of the House know very well that this government is a strong advocate and supporter of the humanitarian division of our immigration program. Every year we welcome almost a quarter of a million new permanent residents who embrace our values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. As an immigrant myself, I was one of them. Among these newcomers are thousands of refugees attracted by our values and the chance to start a new life.
Since the government came to office in 2006, we have accepted more than 51,000 refugees from around the world. In fact, Canada is one of the top three countries in the western world in terms of the numbers of refugees we accept for resettlement. The welcome we extend has given us an international reputation as a champion of human dignity. For example, we have made major commitments for the protection of Karen and Bhutanese refugees in Asia. We have also offered protection to refugees from Africa and Latin America.
We have a very generous asylum program as well. Asylum seekers from all over the world have found a durable solution to their refugee plight in Canada. Canada’s asylum system has one of the highest acceptance rates among western countries, accepting 42% of claimants last year. No less than the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has called us a model for other nations.
Those are facts in which we can take great pride. I think we can all agree that Canada’s refugee system is acknowledged as one of the strongest and fairest in the world today.
However, as everyone in this House knows, we also face significant challenges. It has long been the view of this government that the implementation of a refugee appeal division is not the way to address these challenges.
I would like to talk about the large and growing number of unfounded claims that are putting an incredible strain on our system. These unfounded claims are using up resources that should be used to help people with legitimate refugee claims. As a result, the wait times are getting longer. The most straightforward, successful refugee applications can take an average of two and a half years to reach permanent residency because of a backlog that has continued to grow, despite the current 90% occupancy of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.
As the
Prime Minister and others in this government have said many times before, Canadians expect our refugee system to help and protect legitimate refugees. The refugee appeal division proposed in Bill
C-291 would not help us meet these objectives. It would provide only a paper-based review on issues of fact and law. It would not provide an opportunity to introduce evidence, nor would it provide for an in-person hearing. It would, however, add unnecessary delays and costs to an overburdened system. It is not just the cost of the appeal division which, as my colleagues previously have pointed out, would be in the tens of millions of dollars, but there would also be other costs to the provinces and the federal government for health care and social assistance. This is why it is surprising that the Bloc would be pushing the bill at a time of economic uncertainty that would increase the costs of services to the province of Quebec.
Moving to another point, I want to acknowledge the steps this government has taken to assure the quality of decisions at the Immigration and Refugee Board.
Based on the recommendations of the Public Appointments Commission Secretariat, we implemented a new process for the appointment of members of the IRB in July 2007. This new process strengthens the merit-based focus of governor in council appointments to the board and increases transparency and fairness at the same time. This was an important step forward that was endorsed by the Auditor General when she released her latest report this spring.
It is essential that refugee claimants and Canadians have the utmost confidence in the decisions of the Immigration and Refugee Board. This selection process helps to ensure that confidence. Since this government took office, there have been 111 appointments and 59 re-appointments to the Immigration and Refugee Board. The board now stands at 90% of its full complement. As a result, more genuine refugee claims can be process and finalized, while more frivolous asylum applications are dismissed more quickly.
However, even with a full complement, the rate of applications has increased beyond the capacity of the board, increasing the backlog. This is why the refugee system needs to be reformed instead of creating another useless appeal process that will only make the problem worse.
We have repeatedly urged the opposition to consider the comments already made by the government during this debate. We have a system where even the most straightforward successful refugee claims are currently taking too long to reach a decision. Unsuccessful refugee claimants regularly take over five years before they finish the various levels of appeals available to them. This is five years of federally funded health care and provincially funded social programs, on top of court costs and IRB costs.
Our goal should be to focus more of our time and resources on the people who genuinely need our help and protection, and deal more quickly with those who are trying to take advantage of our generosity.
While Canadians are proud of our support for refugees, less than one in four think we do a good job of removing people who not legitimate refugees. Not only do they read stories about how long people are here before we can deport them, they also notice increases in the number of asylum seekers from countries they do not consider unsafe. Hon. members know, for example, that there has been a sharp increase in the number of asylum seekers from Mexico and only 11% of those claims are accepted.
These failed refugee claimants now have assets to seek leave for judicial review of the IRB decision. After that, they may apply for pre-removal assessment and, if they are still unsuccessful, they may apply for permanent residence status via a humanitarian and compassionate application. This process will take years and all the while these failed refugee claimants have access to social benefits paid for by taxpayers.
Canada will continue to show strong leadership in providing protection to those in need. We will continue to work closely with the United Nations and our partners to do this. However, to do this we require some changes to ensure that people who are not legitimate refugees cannot take advantage of the system through a multi-year system of appeals that will only be increased by this bill.
We support strong and effective protection for genuine refugees but the implementation of the refugee appeal division, as described in Bill
C-291, is not the answer. Again, I urge all hon. members not to support Bill
C-291.
News Release
RICHMOND – The Federal and Provincial governments are providing funding towards $41.2 million in several local infrastructure projects, announced today by Richmond MP Alice Wong and MLA for Richmond East Linda Reid.
A new $26.9-million interchange will be built at Nelson Road and Highway 91, to provide direct access from Highway 91 to the Fraser Port Industrial Area by extending Nelson Road north from the Westminster Highway. The new interchange will provide an alternate route for traffic using Westminster Highway as an east-west connection from Richmond, Highway 99, and Knight Street. This project will reduce traffic congestion, and create better access to the highway network. Community partners will also contribute funding towards this project.
$12.3 million of the joint funding will provide two new sections of shoulder bus lanes along Highway 99 – one from Sea Island Way to Westminster Highway (southbound), and one from Steveston Highway to Westminster Highway (northbound) tying into shoulder bus lanes currently under construction. This project will significantly reduce travel time for buses operating south of the Fraser River.
In addition, $2 million will go towards extending Lansdowne Road to link #3 Road and the Olympic Oval.
“Canada’s economic action plan is working for Richmond,” said Wong. “This announcement is a great example how the Canadian government works together with other levels of government to fund projects that will have long-term benefits for the Asia-Pacific Gateway.”
“These projects are spectacular news for Richmond,” said Reid. “We’re improving access to Fraser Port, minimizing impacts on local farmers and residents along Westminster Highway and creating 260 new jobs. We’re also making it easier for residents to use transit. All of these infrastructure projects will bring long lasting benefits to my constituents.”
These projects are a part of the $290-million infrastructure investment, recently announced by the Government of Canada and the Province of B.C.
The provincial portion of the funding comes from an overall $14-billion capital infrastructure program supported by the Province that will create up to 88,000 jobs and help build vital public infrastructure in every region of B.C.
The federal portion of the funding comes from the $4-billion Infrastructure Stimulus Fund to provide funding to provincial, territorial and municipal infrastructure projects. Funding will be available for two years for projects that will begin during the 2009 and 2010 construction seasons. This initiative is structured to flow funding and get shovels in the ground quickly.
Comments Off
