Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Nov. 26th, 2013

[Patricia Nicoll]

We did already have some additional temporary duty officers in place, so we have those already. We didn't know the typhoon was coming. They were here anyway.

However, as Ms. Bailey has mentioned, we have been working overtime, and we've also received support from CIC in terms of transferring, for example, general inquiries that we've been receiving. We've actually been able to use the resources of the centralized processing region at CIC to assist in answering general inquiries that can be handled from Canada.

[Angela Gawel]

We also have planned for four more TD officers to go to the Philippines in quarter four.

As well, as Ms. Nicoll has just mentioned, we've been leveraging with our colleagues in CPR to assist us with some of the processing or the client service that can be done in Canada to assist.

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Thank you.

Finally, the CIC has mentioned that requests from Filipino citizens temporarily in Canada who wish to extend their stay will be assessed in a compassionate and flexible manner. That's great to hear. I'm just curious about what that actually means in the real world. Have we had an increase in those requests? How have they been handled by CIC?

[Angela Gawel]

I cannot speak for the centralized processing region, so I can't speak for whether we've had an increase in in-Canada applications.

I'm not sure if my colleagues in the Philippines would know.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Unfortunately, we're out of time.

[Catherine Bailey]

No, we haven't really received that information.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Mr. Daniel....

I'm sorry, Mr. McCallum. How could I forget you?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I, too, would like to express my condolences in regard to the typhoon, and my thanks to you, as you are representing Canadians on the front line.

I'd like to focus on Ms. McKinney from Chandigarh, partly because I noticed that your acceptance rate is 53% versus 82% overall, I think it was, and I noticed that you talked a lot about fraud. You said that represented a problem in 15% to 20% of the cases, which means that 80% to 85% of the cases were a problem for reasons other than fraud.

I wonder if you can explain that briefly in broad terms. Other than fraud, what are the main reasons for turning people down in the 80% to 85% of the cases that don't involve fraud?

[Carol McKinney]

All of our applications are processed on a case-by-case basis. Generally, our concerns would lie on.... In my opening remarks, I mentioned the strong economic pull to Canada and whether or not the person would indeed leave Canada at the end of authorized entry.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Well, yes, but that doesn't answer my question. Would it be lack of money? Would it be lack of foreign travel? What are the main reasons such that you would turn people down?

[Carol McKinney]

Right, so that's a lack of ties to their country of origin, unemployment or underemployment, lack of travel, and lack of establishment, including financial means.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

One of the issues is how much money the people need. My experience is that the amount is not a constant. The question is whether they need to have a certain number of dollars in their bank account. If so, how many dollars? Does this vary from place to place? Who sets the number of dollars? What criteria are used to set this number of dollars? My experience is that there's some inconsistency in the application of such rules.

[Carol McKinney]

We don't have a specific dollar amount. What we're looking at when we talk about establishment is in the context of the person. Are they working? Are they in a position where they have a local wage rate? Do they have a pension to look forward to? It's those sorts of things, as opposed to, say, a savings account of x dollars.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

We're often told they're turned down because they don't have sufficient dollars in their bank account. Are you saying that's not a reason?

[Carol McKinney]

It is a reason in the context of the amount of funds they would have in their bank account versus the cost if they travelled to Canada and the reason for the travel to Canada.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Are there any rules about how much money they need? My experience is there is no clarity there.

[Carol McKinney]

No, sir, there is not an exact dollar amount.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Okay, and in terms of travel history, I know you're overworked and errors can occur, but sometimes an error occurs and the travel history is not well understood. Does the individual have a chance to correct such errors or problems without having to reapply and pay the fee again? Is there some mechanism for providing information to correct some possible error after the application is turned down?

[Carol McKinney]

We do receive some requests for reconsideration, but we reconsider the application that was received. Information on what we require is widely provided, through document checklists and our visa application centre, so if they would like to have a new decision, we would expect a new application from them.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Finally—I think my time is running out—can you explain why your acceptance rate at 53% is so much lower than the global average of over 80%?

[Carol McKinney]

Our acceptance rate is lower due to the number of fraudulent applications we have and due to the strong pull of Canada for the Punjabi community.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

The fraudulent applications are only 10% to 15% of the cases, so that can't be the main reason for accepting only half of the applicants.

[Carol McKinney]

The applications are processed on a case-by-case basis. Many of our applicants do not meet Canada's visa requirements because we are not convinced that the individual will depart Canada following an authorized stay.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Thank you.

Mr. Daniel, go ahead.