Senator Jaffer: Senator Dalphond, one of the things that happens at airports, as we all know, is that we also have American pre-clearance officials. I think Senator Boehm asked this question almost every time: How are we going to educate American officials on this lower threshold?

What is your opinion? How is this going? Because they have a higher threshold. Now we must educate them to a lower threshold when their customs officials said their training is sufficient already.

Senator Jaffer: Senator Dean, I will be speaking on this at some point, and I don’t want to belabour it, but even Ms. St. Germain said that she would accept the threshold because that was the general threshold the Customs Act used. Would you agree with that?

Senator Dean: Senator Jaffer, I will check the record. It is my recollection, because it stood out to me, that this was the only witness who was supportive of the original bill as written. So I took from that that she was leaning toward “reasonable general concern.” But we’ll both check the transcripts, and we’ll know when you deliver your statement next week.

Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer: Honourable senators, I also rise today to speak on World Refugee Day and to thank Canadians for opening your doors and your hearts to my refugee family and many other South Asians who fled Uganda 50 years ago.

In June 1972 — 50 years ago — I was a student living in London, England, with my three siblings. My mother was visiting and was with us when we received the worst phone call of our lives, informing us that my father, a Ugandan member of Parliament, had been killed by President Idi Amin’s soldiers.

Our world came crashing down, but my mother did not give up hope. The next day, we heard a knock on the door. It was my father, Sherali Bandali Jaffer, who had fled Uganda to come to England. We could not believe our eyes. My father never shared the details of how he escaped with us, but we know that he had help from his friends in the military. Many of his colleagues were not so fortunate.

My husband and I went back to Uganda and were there on August 3, 1972, when the president declared that he would be expelling all Ugandan Asians. My husband and I were in the process of leaving Uganda when the army showed up at my in-laws’ home. I will never forget that day.

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Young military men had four guns pointing towards my husband — two facing his head and two poking his stomach, forcing him into a jeep. Luckily for us, the police arrived and insisted that my husband be taken to the police station and not army barracks. Luckily, my husband, Nuralla, was released later that day and we left Uganda as soon as we could.

His Highness the Aga Khan and his uncle Prince Sadruddin, who was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees at the time, intervened. They convinced former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and several other global leaders to help us. We were fortunate to be rescued so quickly and are forever grateful to Canadian immigration officials like Mike Molloy, who came to Uganda and quite literally saved our lives.

My story is not unique. Hundreds of refugees before me and after me have had similar experiences.

Honourable senators, on this World Refugee Day let us not forget the women, men and children languishing in refugee camps all over the world. They have lost everything, and we are in a privileged position to provide them with something that they long for: hope. Hope for a brighter future for themselves and for their families.

I will forever remain indebted to Canadians for opening their doors to me and my family when we needed you. I hope that we can keep our hearts and our doors open to refugees around the world and give them hope for a better tomorrow. Thank you, senators.

Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer: Will the honourable senator take a question?

Senator Dean: Yes.

Senator Jaffer: Senator Dean, thank you very much for your work on the committee and for a very comprehensive report.

I may have my figure wrong, but besides the minister and officials, I think you had 12 independent witnesses. Would you agree with me that not one witness talked about the “reasonable general concern” test being a good idea, and that they all suggested that it should instead be “reasonable right to suspect?” Would you agree with me on that?

Senator Dean: Thank you, Senator Jaffer. Arguably, with the exception of the child protective services, that would be the case, yes. All of the others were clearly in favour of a higher threshold.