Well, first of all, I want to read into the record the fact that we've had other ministers, previous Liberal ministers like Judy Sgro, who had said we have a very fair process, and there are at least four avenues of review or appeal on every application.
The Honourable Joe Volpe said every member should know that the appeals processes are there for everybody and that they work well; we're not interested in adding another layer of appeals. He also said, “the Refugee Appeal Division, which was proposed by the committee and accepted in Parliament, was an additional impediment to streamlining the process...”.
He also said:
Protection is really what counts and that's what the current system delivers.
... It still takes too long for decisions to be made and too long for decisions, once they are made, to have an impact. Simply by adding another layer of review or appeal to what we already have will do little to address this shortcoming; in fact, it may make it worse.
My decision is therefore not to implement the RAD.
Some ministers expressed some reservations with respect to putting in another layer. Was that your understanding of the positions of the various ministers previously, Mr. Brown?