This provision is so broad that Citizenship and Immigration Canada has attempted to write administrative guidelines on its usage. In practice, the provisions are far from transparent. They are used differently by different managers. As we pointed out earlier, entire programs involving thousands of individuals have effectively been created under this broad and undefined umbrella. We believe that the system itself should be designed to operate in a compassionate manner, without having to rely on the emotional responses of individual officers.
Compassion is a subjective reaction to the circumstances of another human being.
What moves one person to tears may leave another unmoved, and both reactions might be perfectly legitimate. Our approach to discretionary and humanitarian decision making is consistent with the values and principles that should inform the new Acts. A number of the recommendations we have made in this report will markedly reduce the need for discretionary, humanitarian and compassionate decision-making authority. In terms of numbers, by far the most common use of the current humanitarian and compassionate provisions relates to permitting the spouses and dependent children of Canadians to apply for landed immigrant status from within the country. We have recommended in our discussion of the family that this administrative practice, which has become a de facto visa class, be regularized, publicized and facilitated.