Health Committee on Feb. 12th, 2026

[Jason Jacques]

That's our understanding.

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

I know the residents in my riding want Canada to assist real refugees fleeing persecution abroad, obviously, but they also see a situation where, for example, in British Columbia, two non-Canadians were charged with extortion-related shootings and are now trying to claim refugee status from India.

Until that refugee process is completed, these individuals could have access to taxpayer-funded vision care, home care, physiotherapy, etc. That is what we've determined here. Is that correct?

[Jason Jacques]

That's our understanding, based upon the information provided to us by IRCC.

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

These health benefits are available for coverage as soon as the claim is made. That's all that's required in this claim. Is that correct?

[Jason Jacques]

That is correct.

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

It looks like we have an idea of how many people, refugee claimants, are seeking asylum. For asylum seekers and refugee claimants, would you say one of the big issues here is that there's no way of knowing how many people who are rejected are leaving or whether they've left? There doesn't seem to be a process for knowing those numbers.

[Jason Jacques]

There seems to be a lot of interest around the table with respect to where people are in the process and moving from averages down to more granular data to identify specific cases for individuals. That's work we would be very happy to undertake with the motion from the committee to go into some additional details, including looking at the impacts of the copayment information and Bill C-12.

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

For these services that the asylum seekers and refugee claimants are seeking, there are a lot of seniors in my riding who don't have those right now. We know that the rise in asylum cases is coming from failed economic streams, not warfare or persecution. How long will the claimants I mentioned who are charged with crimes have access to this type of specialized health care? How long did IRCC say the processing time is at present for these asylum claims?

[Jason Jacques]

We didn't go into the specifics. The analysis of the information we did is, again, based upon the averages. For the specific subgroups that you identify who may have engaged in criminality, we didn't identify those specific individuals, or we can't tease them out based on the information that we have.

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

I'm going to cede the rest of my time to Mr. Mazier.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Mr. Mazier, you have one minute and 29 seconds.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Thank you.

With that, Chair, I'd like to move the following motion. I move:

That, the committee request the Parliamentary Budget Officer provide the committee with an updated report on the interim federal health program within three months and that the report include further in-depth analysis of the following:

(a) the fiscal impact of the changes announced in 2025 to the interim federal health program, including the copayment policy and any related measures;

(b) a detailed breakdown of supplemental health benefits by category, province, utilization and contribution to overall program growth, including utilization rates;

(c) cost implications across different asylum claim pathways and outcomes, broken down by province;

(d) the financial sensitivity of the program to changes in IRB processing times;

(e) the relationship between intake levels, backlogs and projected IFHP expenditures;

(f) risks that could materially impact long-term program costs beyond current projections;

(g) an analysis on the distribution of IFHP usage and costs across provinces, highlighting impact of the program on specific hospitals/regions;

(h) an analysis of changes in the average cost per beneficiary and its contribution to the overall growth of the program;

(i) an analysis of alternative scenarios taking into account variations in intake volumes and processing times; and

(j) any other elements deemed relevant by the Parliamentary Budget Officer to ensure a comprehensive analysis of the factors influencing the program’s fiscal trajectory;

And that, upon the completion of this report, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, officials from Health Canada and officials from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada be invited to testify separately before committee on the subject of the report.

After all those points, we went around here, and obviously the PBO needed some more time and more data to complete it with the complement. Of course, there's been a new trajectory taken by the federal government, and that should, in all fairness, be reflected in there as well, but there are still lots of holes in the analysis from this first report. That's why we're bringing it forward today. I'm looking forward to seeing if, hopefully, the committee can support it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Do you need some time to look at it?

[Maggie Chi, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

Can we suspend and take a look?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

We'll suspend.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

The committee is resuming.

We have a motion on the floor, and I would like to preface the motion with something. When the motion to bring the Auditor General was first proposed by the Conservatives, I said that some of it may not pertain to health and may just be for the immigration committee. I was promised that this would stick only to health. This new motion today tends to wander slightly off that path. I am wondering if it is appropriate for this committee to continue to study this particular motion or whether we should send it on to citizenship and immigration.

I would like to hear the committee discuss that. I'm asking whether you feel that this is sticking to the concept of health or whether you believe this has moved on to a further extension that does not belong to the mandate of this committee.

Go ahead, Ms. Chi.

[Maggie Chi, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

I think you really hit the nail right on the head there. We've been studying this particular subject since the beginning of this session, since last year. We've really spent a lot of time talking about the subject. If I remember correctly, it has been eight or nine meetings already.

I do want to, first of all, thank the officials for coming in a clutch. I do appreciate that you produced a report on such short notice.

You probably know that we've spent nine meetings in the health committee talking about the impact of immigration, which I agree is an important issue. That's why we included it in budget 2025: about reducing the levels, to really take a lot of action and approaches to normalize the levels that match the demand and the needs, including of the rural community. I think some of the members made a point there as well.

What I would like to say is that the report doesn't have a lot of information that the committee is looking for. Through the line of questioning we've heard here, it was very evident. The projection was based on numbers that didn't include the new measures in budget 2025 and some of the new measures that will be included in Bill C-12, the border bill, which will also bring down the levels of migrants or immigrants.

On top of that, I also want to really re-emphasize the mandate of HESA, with emphasis on health. The explicit mandate of HESA—and this is really pulling out the exact wording that we have, based on the home page— is, “The House of Commons Standing Committee on Health...is empowered to study and report on all matters relating to the mandate, management, and operation of Health Canada.” I think the emphasis is on Health Canada.

It “includes its responsibilities for the operations of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), an internal Health Canada body. The committee is also responsible for the oversight—

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

I have a point of order.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Excuse me; there's a point of order.

Go ahead, Mr. Mazier.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Are the Liberals filibustering?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Mr. Mazier, that's not a point of order.

[Maggie Chi, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

I'm on the list to speak.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

[Inaudible—Editor] permission to be on the list to speak to the motion, Mr. Mazier.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

She has nothing to.... I wish she would start doing that, actually.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Mr. Mazier, this is not a debate. That was not a point of order.

Continue, Ms. Chi, please.