This week the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism introduced balanced reforms for Canada's Asylum System. Canada has a long-standing tradition of providing refuge to individuals who face persecution. However, it is no secret that although fair, it has also been too easily abused.
 
Between 2006 and 2008, the number of requests for refugee protection made by those in Canada on visitor, student, or work permits increased by 60 percent. With about 60,000 asylum claims in the backlog, the system is now overwhelmed.  We are in effect creating  a two tier system in which immigrants wait patiently in line to come to Canada, while those with unfounded claims use the asylum system to try to jump the queue.
 
Too much time and precious resources are being spent to review the claims of people who are not in need of our protection and who stay in Canada for years. We need to fix the system so that persons who face persecution receive swift protection in Canada and those whose claims are unfounded are removed quickly. The Government of Canada estimates that each unfounded asylum claim costs taxpayers $50,000.
 
To address this, our government has introduced important legislation, the Balanced Refugee Reform Act. This legislation will improve our asylum system, render timely decisions on asylum claims without sacrificing fairness and quickly remove those who are not in need of Canada’s protection.
 
The new system would see public servants employed by the independent Immigration and Refugee Board render decisions on asylum claims. The proposed measures would also include an appeal process. This new Refugee Appeal Division, would allow new evidence to be introduced and in-person hearings in certain circumstances.  Asylum seekers whose claims are unfounded would be removed.
 
These are balanced and fair reforms.
 
For example, the information-gathering stage in which initial information regarding an asylum claim is collected would be reduced from 28 days to eight.
 
Rather than it taking 4.5 years for a failed asylum claimant to exhaust all their appeals and be removed from Canada, the proposed system would see this accomplished in a year in most cases. 
 
The measures our government proposes are fair and cost-effective and would bring more timely protection to those who need it, while improving our ability to remove those who seek to take advantage of our generosity.
 
As your Member of Parliament, I intend to support this legislation, which will restore balance to our asylum system.
 
Lois Brown, MP Newmarket-Aurora