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  • Jun/15/22 2:00:00 p.m.

Hon. Peter M. Boehm moved the adoption of the report.

He said: Honourable senators, I rise today as Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade to explain the purpose and effect of the amendment to Bill S-8 adopted by the committee.

Colleagues, Bill S-8, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, to make consequential amendments to other Acts and to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, was introduced in the Senate on May 17, 2022, and was referred to the committee on May 19, 2022.

The committee began its study on June 3, 2022, with two panels of expert witnesses and government officials from the Canada Border Services Agency; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada and Global Affairs Canada, and concluded on June 9, 2022, with clause-by-clause consideration.

During that meeting, the Government Representative in the Senate, Senator Gold, joined us to move a coordinating amendment, which the committee ultimately adopted. The purpose of the amendment, which is technical rather than substantive, is to prevent a potential conflict with Bill C-21 on firearms, which was introduced in the House of Commons on May 30, 2022.

Bill S-8 proposes changes to three provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that are also impacted by Bill C-21. In each of these provisions, Bill S-8 would add sanctions to the existing list of grounds for inadmissibility or detention. Bill C-21, in turn, would add transborder criminality to the existing list of grounds for inadmissibility or detention.

However, as the bills are currently written, neither piece of legislation takes the other into account, meaning that whichever bill receives Royal Assent second would unintentionally undo the changes to the provisions made by the bill that becomes law first.

I’m glad you’re all with me on this.

The amendment proposed by Senator Gold and adopted by the committee addresses this issue by stating that if the provisions in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act amended by both Bill S-8 and Bill C-21 enter into force, then both sanctions and transborder criminality would be included as grounds for inadmissibility or detention under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

To put it simply, colleagues, this technical coordinating amendment is designed to preserve the changes made to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act by Bill S-8, but makes no substantive changes to the content of Bill S-8.

Thank you.

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