CIMM Committee Report
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Refugee Protection and Border Security: Striking a Balance
It is the opinion of the Official Opposition that the development of the report by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration was a futile exercise, as it will have no impact on forthcoming legislation from the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. This report had real potential to be a valuable guide to the Minister for drafting new and effective Immigration and Refugee legislation. It was the earnest hope of the Official Opposition that the Committee provide the Minister guidance and recommendations on this very difficult and complex topic of Canada’s Refugee Determination System and Illegal Immigration.
Even before a draft of the Committee’s report was written it became obvious that the Minister had absolutely no intention of taking the Committee’s recommendations into account. The Committee undertook the task of developing its report with the assurance of the Committee Chair and the Minister that its recommendations would be considered in the new legislation. In fact, the Official Opposition obtained a copy of the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act two weeks prior to the Committee’s draft report. The Official Opposition also came to possess a document titled, Legislative Review Critical Path Towards Tabling Legislation in 2000. This document outlined several dates in the approval process of the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that precluded any possibility of the Committee’s report influencing the final legislation prior to it being tabled in the House of Commons.
It is for this reason that the Official Opposition has submitted a dissenting opinion. It is unfortunate that the Minister has chosen to use the Committee for window dressing to her new legislation and waste its time in this fashion. There was a lot of useful work done by the witnesses and committee members alike. Furthermore all of the witnesses must feel used knowing that their presentations were not taken in good faith by this government.
By not supporting the Committee’s report through the submission of a dissenting opinion, it is the goal of the Official Opposition to call attention to the flawed process of how the Committee’s report was developed having no chance of ever affecting the pending Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Leon Benoit, MP
Chief Critic for Citizenship and Immigration