Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner said Thursday she plans to try and “amend the heck” out of the government’s border security bill, Bill C-12, with a host of measures targeting the asylum system.
Her proposed changes include disallowing asylum claims from people who transited through Europe or another G7 country on their way to Canada and denying access to social benefits, except emergency medical treatment, for those with a failed asylum claim.
“I think Canadians want some change in this regard. Canada’s system for allowing and accepting asylum claims is pretty generous,” Rempel Garner said at a press conference on Parliament Hill.
“So somebody who’s failed a review, I think it’s fair that the only federal benefits that they receive is emergency health care and I think a lot of Canadians would agree.”
Rempel Garner said she also plans to propose changes to speed up the deportation of non-citizens if they are convicted of a crime or if their pre-removal risk assessment isn’t successful.
This includes clarifying the definition of “serious criminality” in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to be a conviction of an indictable offence, or a hybrid offence where the Crown proceeded with an indictable charge.
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Rempel Garner also said she will propose a ban on repeat pre-removal risk assessments if the initial one fails unless new evidence of changed circumstances is presented.
She said increased rates of permanent and temporary immigration, in addition to increased asylum claims, have “broken” Canada’s system and contributed to declining support for immigration.
“I think everybody in Canada, (of) every political stripe, should be deeply concerned with public polling data that shows that Canadians are losing faith in the immigration system,” Rempel Garner said.
“I’m encouraged that in Canada that debate hasn’t devolved towards pointing fingers at immigrants themselves — and nor should it. The finger should be squarely pointed at the Liberal government.”
As it stands, Bill C-12 proposes restrictions on eligibility to make an asylum claim if the person has been in Canada for more than a year, among other measures.
Rempel Garner said she plans to formally introduce these amendments when the bill goes through clause-by-clause analysis at a House of Commons committee meeting next week.
The committee’s voting membership is made up of four Liberals, four Conservatives and one Bloc Québécois MP — the latter of whom typically holds the balance of power when votes go down party lines.
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