Chairperson, I would like to respond to the hon Magau and the hon Groenewald who talked about the recent granting of refugee status to a South African in Canada.
Let me say that the South African government has issued a statement in which we reject the basis on which the Canadian Refugee Board granted refugee status to this individual. Let me further say that with regard to the question asked and the request from the hon Magau about what the Department of International Relations and Co-operation is doing, I would like to put before this House the two processes that we have already undertaken in this regard. Firstly, our High Commissioner in Ottawa had a meeting with the director-general of the counterpart department in Canada and expressed our gravest concern in this regard. The response was that this matter is decided by an independent or quasi-government board and that the government does not take decisions in this regard nor does the government of Canada interfere in such decisions. We are of the view, however, that the relevant Minister in Canada has the ability to do a judicial review and that this should be undertaken. The South African government will be urging the Canadian government to do so.
The second level of interaction we had with the Canadian government in this regard is that our senior officials called the charg d'affaires of the Canadian High Commission in Pretoria as currently the Canadian government is between High Commissioners - one has left and the other has not yet been fully accredited. They expressed our sincere displeasure on this move. So, we are following up on a number of these things. We do believe, as I said, that the grounds on which this board took the decision are not correct. We also question why our High Commissioner in Ottawa was not informed or consulted on this matter. We think that this shows a lack of familiarisation with the facts and the reality of South African society. While we have incredibly good bilateral relations with the Canadian government, we will be pursuing this matter and following a diplomatic procedure in order to express our views on this matter with the Canadian government.
In relation to what the hon Groenewald said, I think he is neglecting the fact that international law and practice also govern matters relating to refugees and how the status of refugees is granted. If he rejects the idea that it is racist, there is also international law to consider. We have to abide by international law as good global citizens, and we expect our partners and friends in the world to do so too. So, thank you very much for your question, hon Magau. We will, as a government, continue to pursue this matter until it is resolved. Thank you. [Applause.]