Mr. Zuberi, thank you for your advocacy on matters especially pertaining to human rights, and for standing against authoritarian dictatorships that are oppressive. I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to you.
In addition to the bill that is before you, which will help to align the work that our colleagues at Global Affairs do in listing individuals under SEMA and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, there are existing authorities that deal with, for example, espionage. By virtue of those authorities under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, an individual can be deemed inadmissible if there are grounds to believe they have committed an act in relation to espionage.
This bill will further close any existing loopholes if, for example, there are specific individuals who have been listed under the Special Economic Measures Act, or SEMA, and align that in express language under IRPA, so that they are deemed inadmissible, but only after an analysis has been undertaken by Global Affairs.