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Parliament Video: Jenny introduces Bill C-291 to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

On April 29, 2021, MP Jenny Kwan tabled a Private Member's Bill, C-291: An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act:

Jenny Kwan (NDP) Vancouver East, BC

"Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to introduce an act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

I would like to thank my colleague, the honourable deputy leader of the NDP, for seconding this proposed legislation and for his tireless advocacy for families longing to reunite with their loved ones.

This NDP bill stipulates that loved ones with family sponsorship applications awaiting processing may not be refused entry into Canada as a temporary resident solely on the grounds that they may not have established that they will leave Canada by the end of their authorized stay, unless there is evidence of a history of non-compliance with requirements to leave Canada or any other country. It would further ensure that a foreign national who is the subject of a family sponsorship application may remain in Canada as a temporary resident until a final determination on their sponsorship application is made.

Far too many Canadians have been suffering silently and alone, and they face lengthy delays in the processing of their family sponsorship application. What is worse is that they cannot even have their loved ones visit, even before COVID-19. Their loved ones are regularly met with denials of the TRV application under section 179(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, because immigration officers routinely deem having strong ties to Canada would result in an overstay. My office has dealt with countless cases where people are still rejected even if they have a previous history of travelling without incident.

I am tabling my private member's bill so that we can restore fairness and humanity to the process. I call on all parliamentarians to support this bill."

 

https://openparliament.ca/debates/2021/4/29/jenny-kwan-1/

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HANSARD: Foreign Interference and Alleged Reputational Harm to Members of Parliament

Outside this chamber, just yesterday, there were individuals shouting, questioning and jeering about who the traitors may be. Members of Parliament had to walk past these individuals on the members' way to the House to do their work. I believe we must find a way to disclose which MPs are knowingly, intentionally, wittingly or semi-wittingly engaging with foreign states or their proxies to undermine Canada's democratic processes and institutions. I believe this can be done in a way that does not compromise national security.

If there are no consequences for MPs who knowingly help foreign governments act against Canadian interests, we will continue to be an easy target. This will further erode the trust and faith Canadians have in our democratic processes. If allowed to continue, it will further impugn the integrity of the House. Revealing any member of Parliament, former or present, who is a willing participant in foreign interference activities would have the effect of deterring this kind of behaviour. Moreover, it would send a clear message to those foreign states that this cannot continue and that they will not be able to continue to use parliamentarians in this way. This will further reassure the public of the integrity of the House.

I strongly believe that the House should refer the matter to the procedure and House affairs committee. A possible way to deal with the issue would be for committee members to undergo the necessary security screening to examine the unredacted report and look into the allegations about parliamentarians who were “‘witting or semi-witting’ participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in our politics.” We could allow the named parliamentarians to be informed and to come before the committee as witnesses; we could then explore options on how to disclose the named parliamentarians without compromising national security or police investigations of the matter.

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