Conservatives Propose Common Sense Changes to Bill C-12
Ottawa, ON – Today, the Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner, Conservative Shadow Minister for Immigration, issued the following statement on the conclusion of Committee Stage for Bill C-12:
“This Wednesday, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety concluded deliberations on the government’s Bill C-12. Conservative MPs proposed common-sense amendments to take meaningful steps to improve Canada’s broken immigration system.
“The Liberals have destroyed the immigration consensus in Canada by permitting bogus applications, allowing backlogs to overflow, and passing the buck to the courts to solve the problems they created.
“There are over 3 million temporary residents in Canada, far more than our country can sustain. This has overwhelmed our healthcare system, crowded our housing market, and left no jobs for young Canadians.
“Conservatives stepped up to offer clear solutions that would serve the people our system was intended to serve. The status quo not only fails existing citizens, it also fails the newcomers who patiently waited in the queue.
“While the committee took meaningful steps to implement Conservative amendments, the Liberals blocked many of the changes that would have deterred bogus claims, penalized offenders, and strengthened reporting requirements for Canadians to judge the system for themselves.
“Conservatives are calling on the Liberals to listen to Canadians and implement the changes needed to make Canada’s immigration system fair and efficient, while serving citizens and newcomers alike.
“The time for meaningful reform is long overdue.”
Summary of Conservative amendments’ outcome at Committee:
Conservative amendments being rejected by Liberal and Bloc Members:
- 6-month conviction threshold for automatic removal of non-citizen criminals remains in place,
- Asylum claimants can leave Canada and not have a claim terminated,
- Those nationals from, or those transiting through, G7 and EU countries can continue to make claims in Canada,
- If caught lying to a CBSA officer, claimants are not automatically removed,
- Criminals here on asylum claims are not automatically removed,
- No recorded oral or written statement required from those claiming asylum when entering Canada,
- Claimants can miss hearings and not have their claim terminated,
- Post-secondary institutions face no consequences for bringing in bogus asylum seekers,
- No need to prove an asylum claim was made in a timely manner, and no burden of proof on the claimant to prove a claim was made in a timely way,
- Applications for protection can proceed despite no new information being submitted,
- No provincially-based representation at the Immigration and Refugee Board, and
- Non-merit-based (i.e. political) appointments at the Immigration and Refugee Board remain.
Conservative amendments passed with Bloc support, with Liberals dissenting:
- Any asylum claimant who returns to their country of origin has any claim of theirs terminated,
- Warrants must be issued if a person is a danger to national security, and
- Automatic termination of a claim if a determination of inadmissibility is reached.
Conservative amendments passed with support from Liberal and Bloc Members, or passed on division:
- Stricter penalties for those convicted of human trafficking, including:
- For individuals, a fine of not more than $1M or to life imprisonment, or to both, and
- For organizations, a fine of not more than $25M.
- A new monthly report to Parliament on deportations, detailing:
- Countries of origin, age and gender breakdowns, and criminal backgrounds of persons removed, and
- The number of removal orders enforced, those not enforced, and the reasons why any were not.
- Prohibition on using immigration document variation powers to issue Permanent Residency,
- The Immigration and Refugee Board Chair position is not closed off to those living outside Ottawa,
- Requirement for a detailed report and Minister to appear before committee if the immigration document variation/cancellation powers are used, and
- An updated Annual Report to Parliament, including:
- All federal benefits provided during the year in question to claimants for refugee protection, including the total cost of the benefits,
- The number of removal orders enforced within 30 days and a summary of the reasons for delays in the case of orders not enforced within 30 days, and
- Measures taken to ensure that persons whose claim is determined to be ineligible under section 101 do not receive federal benefits, except for emergency health care.