Canada-China Relations Committee on Nov. 16th, 2020

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Respectfully, Minister, the family reunification streams are two to three years backlogged. We'd be looking at a parents and grandparents lottery, for example, that wouldn't open up until next year, and then if they won that lottery and their application was approved, they wouldn't be able to come to Canada for another two years. So again, your announcement doesn't—

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Ms. Dancho—

[The Chair, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Thank you, Ms. Dancho. That concludes your six minutes.

Thank you, Minister.

We'll go on now to Ms. Yip, for six minutes.

Go ahead, please.

[Jean Yip, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

I want to thank you, Minister, for coming to the Canada-China committee. It's good to see you.

I'd like to ask you more about the details surrounding the plan you have put forth to help the people of Hong Kong. You mentioned in your opening remarks that there are specific measures for students and young people looking to resettle in Canada. Can you elaborate for us on exactly why these are for students and young people and not for others who have also supported protests but may not have the work experience or the education?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Thank you very much, Ms. Yip. And it is nice to see you as well.

I would just begin by saying that this is an announcement that builds on our immigration plan, which I tabled a little more than two weeks ago. That immigration plan is very much focused on meeting the needs of our economy, including in some very important sectors like our health care sector, where we have doctors and nurses and pharmacists who have been working around the clock. We believe that through the initiative announced last week, we will be able to tap into the skills, experience and talent that exist in Hong Kong to provide a flexible work permit, and then we hope they will make the transition to a fast-tracked permanent residency through one of the two streams.

I believe this is a real opportunity. We hope there will be young Hong Kongers who will want to come to Canada to contribute. This initiative is also in keeping with the long-standing people-to-people ties between Canada and the people of Hong Kong.

[Jean Yip, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Given the recent news about the political interference of foreign actors, are you concerned about the safety of these students coming to Canada?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Well, as I've said, Ms. Yip, we have very rigorous admissibility screening to ensure that the immigration system operates with integrity so that the public has confidence. I would point out that the OECD and other organizations have consistently recognized that Canada has one of the best immigration systems in the world, if not the best, when it comes to integration. As far as international students are concerned, we have a program that is a significant net contributor to our economy, by over $21 billion a year.

I will say that in recent months, we have seen an increase in the number of applicants from Hong Kong, which is why I think our announcement last week is well timed.

[Jean Yip, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

I believe that Canada is a popular destination for Hong Kong students.

You've been mandated by the Prime Minister to implement a new stream specifically for human rights advocates, journalists and humanitarian workers at risk, with a target of helping resettle as many as 250 people a year. The majority of people who would become candidates for the new measures just announced would also presumably fall into the category of individuals served by the human rights defenders stream. Can you elaborate for us on how that stream is progressing and explain why the new streams are important?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Thank you very much, Ms. Yip. I'm pleased to report to the members of the committee that the implementation of that stream is on track, and we certainly hope to have it put to ground by 2021. I think the part it is important to underline for you and all of our colleagues is that this is a stream that builds on Canada's record of having a robust asylum system that ensures that people's human rights are upheld, and I look forward to having more to say about that in the very near future.

[Jean Yip, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

In your opening statement, you also mentioned that nobody will be hindered by their pro-democracy activities. What measures is Canada taking to ensure that these activists do not have visa or asylum applications rejected for some overly broad interpretation of the national security law?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

As I said, we have an asylum system that is revered around the world. That asylum system ensures that people get due process. The claims made by those seeking safe harbour in Canada, who are fleeing persecution, war or conflict, are adjudicated by the Immigration and Refugee Board. That is a tribunal that operates independently from government. It ensures that there are fair hearings and that the claims are adjudicated on their merits.

As well, we have a number of branches that are implicated in the important work of doing all the admissibility screening to really uphold the high degree of integrity and confidence in our immigration and asylum system.

[Jean Yip, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

The consul general in Hong Kong joined us last month. He talked about the immigration section of their office being one of the largest that we have anywhere in the world. They're currently processing files for our missions for other parts of the world that are unable to do the work because of COVID—for example, countries in Africa and South Asia. He mentioned that they have a lot of capacity on the ground.

If there are only 60 people working in the immigration section processing those files, not just for Hong Kong and Macau, but also those places I mentioned, is there enough capacity at the Hong Kong consulate to handle the increase in applications under the new measures?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

The first thing I want to do is commend the consul general and indeed all staff at our office in Hong Kong.

You are quite right. They have been stepping up and have been performing in an extraordinary period time to ensure that people are able to move across international borders and are able to access their papers. That has been one of the contributing factors in the way in which we have seen safe and orderly immigration continue in Canada.

[The Chair, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Thank you, Minister.

Thank you, Ms. Yip.

[Jean Yip, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I'll now give the floor to Mr. Bergeron for six minutes.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much, Mr. Minister. Personally, I'm very happy you're here. As you probably know, we began this segment of our study on Hong Kong with a sense of urgency, given the application of the National Security Law in Hong Kong. This law means that democracy advocates in Hong Kong are now at risk and are looking for ways, if necessary, to find refugee somewhere.

The plan you announced fills a gap that had been identified. The British have put in place a number of measures to welcome people from Hong Kong who were present at the time of the handover. This excludes all the young people who were obviously not born at the time of the handover, who cannot take advantage of these mechanisms that have been put in place to find refuge in the United Kingdom.

By the Prime Minister's own admission, the measures aimed at welcoming young and qualified nationals from Hong Kong are not humanitarian measures, since they leave out many young people who are not necessarily qualified or, as our colleague said earlier, perhaps slightly older defenders of democracy.

What do you have in mind for these younger or older people who aren't currently covered by the measures that you've just told us about?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

First of all, I'd like to thank my colleague for his question.

We have introduced a number of pathways that will facilitate family reunification. I was mentioning earlier to Ms. Dancho that there are COVID-era rules that allow for visitors to come and visit immediate and broadened family members in Canada. We also have a number of existing permanent residency pathways through both the parent and grandparent programs, as well as other initiatives that are there to reunite families across a broad range of ages.

But you're quite right. The announcement last week was tailored to young Hong Kongers and recent graduates to meet the needs of our economy today.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Mr. Minister, I understand from your answer that there are measures to allow family reunification, but that, strictly speaking, apart from the refugee protection claim process, there are not yet any specific measures for younger people who are not necessarily graduates, who are still studying and who have demonstrated, or older people who have taken part in demonstrations.

In relation to that, you said in your presentation that participation in peaceful demonstrations is not considered an offence in Canada. The problem with the National Security Law is that people who participate in demonstrations are being charged with crimes that exist in Canada, such as sedition.

Would someone who took part in a pro-democracy demonstration and was charged with sedition, a recognized crime in Canada, still be admissible in Canada?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Thank you for asking that very important question.

With regard to screening people for inadmissibility, I'll just underline again that no one will be deemed ineligible just because they have been charged under the national security law passed by China or if they have not committed anything considered a crime under Canadian law.

I would say that any claims that are made by someone seeking asylum in Canada will be adjudicated on their merits by the Immigration and Refugee Board, which, of course, as I mentioned earlier, is an independent tribunal.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Minister.

You'll understand that I'm very concerned about the statement that participation in political demonstrations is not considered an offence in Canada.

I'm concerned about the enforcement of certain convictions, for sedition, for instance. I imagine holding a referendum isn't considered an offence in Canada. However, President Puigdemont of Catalonia was refused entry to Canada because he was charged with sedition and convicted by the Spanish government for organizing a referendum. I'm concerned that democracy advocates in Hong Kong, given such a sedition conviction, may also be denied access to Canada.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

I understand the distinction, Mr. Bergeron.

I would simply say that we have well-established principles for determining who may and who may not be admissible when seeking asylum, and those principles are there to ensure the integrity of our asylum system as well as the safety and security of the Canadian people. I think the vast majority of Canadians will understand that as long as you have not committed what is considered a crime under Canadian law, then you will be eligible to make a claim in our asylum system, which will be adjudicated by our independent tribunal.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Do I have a little bit of time left, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

You have 20 seconds.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

It would be an insult to the minister to ask him to answer a question in five seconds, so I'll yield the floor to the next person, Mr. Chair.