Senator Omidvar: Will Permanent Residents be Impacted by Bill C-75?

Senator Omidvar: Senator Sinclair, this is the third bill that has come before the Senate which has serious consequences on permanent residents who are not yet Canadian citizens. Changes in hybridizing in sentencing will impact maximum potential sentences from six months to more than six months, and that is having a knock-on effect on permanent residents, leading to potential deportations. Bill C-45, Bill C-46 and now Bill C-75.

In each of these instances, I have asked the sponsor and the minister responsible as to when the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act will be amended so that it is in harmony with all these changes to the Criminal Code.

I want to ask you whether you sought and got assurances that, in fact, this will happen. You have talked a lot about the most vulnerable people in society. I would say, in many ways, permanent residents who are not yet Canadian citizens who risk deportation fall into that category.

Senator Sinclair: Thank you, honourable senator, for your question. The issue of deportation and the impact of increasing the maximum penalty for summary conviction matters from six months to two years, in many cases, was raised with the minister when the minister made presentations to the committee.

The issue was not resolved through discussions with the minister. At the committee level, it was pointed out that, generally, most sentencing judges, when they are dealing with people who are not permanent residents, will take into account the impact that a sentence will have upon a deportation question for a particular accused, but that dealing with it through legislation at this particular point in time, particularly in the Criminal Code, would tend to undermine the thrust of the amendments being considered by the committee insofar as the intention to ensure that those who were charged with serious offences would still continue to be considered in an appropriate way.

All I can tell you is that no assurance was given to the committee by the minister and in the same way that the minister responded in the chamber.