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He's Senior Superintendent Marco Vidal, and before taking up his post as the commander of the Eastern Division South, he was the Officer in Charge of the Special Branch. That is the police unit that actually conducted the screening of visa and nationality applicants by doing the background checks. He explained to us his knowledge of the practice and history of screening.

Jules Vasquez
"Are you aware when you were in charge of Special Branch if persons were being screened for nationality?"

Sr. Supt. Mark Vidal, OC, Southside Commander
"That process changed a very long time ago. At one point Special Branch was responsible for doing the vetting for nationalities. Currently what Special Branch is doing is only vetting for permanent residency. So we are not involved in the nationality aspect of vetting."

Jules Vasquez
"As someone who is steep in the tradition of intelligence and who has spent many years in the Special Branch, is it a desirable practice to have all persons who end up with a nationality certificate, to have all of them have a background screening before they get that certificate?"

Sr. Supt. Mark Vidal, OC, Southside Commander
"Well certainly, but you must understand that Immigration does that kind of vetting. Before it was at Special Branch who do the vetting do relevant checks even international checks. So I don't know what the process at Immigration follows, but what we use to follow I supposed was a bit more thorough."

Vidal told us that when he was at Special Branch he performed about 150 to 200 background checks per year.

So, the Senate hearings continue next week, and the witnesses being called to testify include Emory Young, who is a Justice of the Peace. The Senate Select Committee also wants to hear from the Auditor General's team who actually did the work of inspecting the Immigration Department.