Human Resources Committee on May 8th, 2020

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much, and thank you to the officials.

The minister mentioned that work permits and visas are being processed in the turnaround time of one week. Is that for all work permits and visas, including the need for extensions?

[Catrina Tapley]

That's in certain categories. I wish we could turn everything around in one week, but no, what the minister mentioned was just for certain categories.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Could the officials provide the processing time and the backlog in the different categories to the committee, please? I think it's really important to understand what that situation looks like.

Particularly, I'm wondering about the instance where people have expired work permits. What is the turnaround time for their applications to be processed?

[Catrina Tapley]

For those with expired work permits, we continue to emphasize—and we have reached out to all our clients—that there is an implied status if you have reapplied for that work permit, and that's been key.

I wonder if Mr. Dumas might be able to add to that question.

[Louis Dumas, Acting Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration]

Thank you, Deputy Minister Tapley.

Indeed, as Deputy Minister Tapley said, according to certain categories, we have certain processing times, but we do prioritize those that need an extension. We've had a number of reorganizations within our operations sector here in Canada to really address those priorities. We'd be happy to provide you with further numbers on that.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

If you could, please do so. When I'm talking about expired.... If people with expired work permits, for example, have lost their jobs and their work permits expired right at the cusp of that period, they actually don't have implied status. They are in a very difficult situation, and I wonder what will happen to those individuals. That's what I'm concerned about. If we could get those numbers, it would be very helpful. I think it's misleading to say that it's being processed within one week when it doesn't apply to all categories.

On the question of exemptions, I've asked the minister about exemptions for people receiving CERB and other government emergency support at this time. On the IRCC website, the only place I can find where the exemption is indicated, where people would not be penalized in the immigration process, is for spousal, parents' and grandparents' applications. There's no language about applications for TFWs, for example. I brought this to the minister's attention. That is, I think, a technical oversight. I wonder if the ministry will fix this oversight on its website. I looked just this morning, and I have not seen an update.

As well, do you have any further information with respect to exemptions for other government emergency benefits, aside from CERB?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

Ms. Tapley, your connection is not great. If you could hold your microphone close and speak slowly, that will greatly help the interpreters. Thank you.

[Catrina Tapley]

Thank you for that. I think this is better.

For CERB, as the member indicated, we do not consider such a program to be social assistance for the purposes of [Technical difficulty—Editor] sponsorship and also for our other programs. We can certainly look for means to clarify that on our website and look at how we communicate with our clients.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I think it would be very helpful and useful to give certainty to people. That would apply to anyone who's engaged in the immigration process and receiving emergency government assistance.

Is that just for CERB, or is it for other emergency benefits as well?

[Catrina Tapley]

What I have is just for CERB, but we can look into other benefits as well. The same would apply, I believe, in other categories, but we will get back to you on that and confirm.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I would appreciate that because, as you know, instead of coming forward with a direct universal payment, the government has come out with all sorts of different programs, and people will qualify under different sets of circumstances. If they qualify, it would be astounding if the government would later on, in a different program, penalize people because of those benefits. I hope that exemption of not penalizing people engaged in the immigration process would apply for all government emergency benefits at this time.

In terms of open work permits, the minister mentioned that work is under way with respect to that. Can the officials give us an update? For people with employer-specific work permits, if they've lost their jobs at this time, it would almost be impossible for them to secure employment. Therefore, making open work permits available to them would be quite essential.

Can you give us an update on where you are in terms of realizing this?

[Catrina Tapley]

We are concerned about the situation for many of the reasons that the member already indicated. We're working to try to find a means to address this.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Do you have a timeline?

[Catrina Tapley]

I don't have a specific timeline. I'm hoping it will be very soon.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Okay. I just want to emphasize the urgency of this. As days pass, people are stuck in that precarious situation, and they're desperate. People want to get back out into the workforce. It also has further implications, again, tied to their work permit expiry time period. All of these things are rolled together with huge implications.

The minister talked about—

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

Thank you, Ms. Kwan. You're out of time.

Next we have Mr. Albas, please, for five minutes.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Actually, I believe Mr. Vis was supposed to be the one taking this round.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

We'll move over to you, Mr. Vis.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Thank you.

Thank you to the witnesses today. My questions are going to be a little more granular, and I will be seeking some data on processing times and visas issued.

My first question is to Mr. Massé.

Can you please confirm, yes or no, whether LMIAs are still being processed by ESDC?

[Philippe Massé]

Yes, we're still processing LMIAs.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Okay. How many favourable LMIAs have been processed by ESDC since March 15?

[Philippe Massé]

I would have to get back to you with specific data on that. We are prioritizing agri-food and agriculture and other essential services applications at this time.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

I look forward to that data. Thank you.

Are you still processing LMIAs under the general criteria, the general classification, as well?

[Philippe Massé]

The program is still open. We are, of course, applying our due diligence in assessing the applications, including requiring employers to provide credible evidence that they've tried to hire Canadians. We review employers' employment insurance history to see if they've recently laid off. We're also pursuing some enhancements to our administration, including ensuring that the business or the employer has a genuine need for the workers.

For those who applied prior to the COVID-19 situation, we're asking employers to readvertise in the current situation, and that includes posting for two weeks, that they reach out to under-represented groups and that they use our job match service. This is, in particular, in the low-wage areas, to ensure that all Canadians who are currently unemployed have opportunities for those jobs. We continue to work on strengthening that as more evidence comes to bear, as well as working with provinces and territories on the labour market situation. There's a number—

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Thank you.

Is it correct, yes or no, that you generally use labour market survey data issued by Statistics Canada in the determinations you make on behalf of the LMIA applications?