Citizenship and Immigration Committee on May 13th, 2008

[Richard Fadden]

In fact, the minister plans to do the exact opposite of what you're suggesting. She has indicated on several occasions that she has no intention of not respecting commitments made to the provinces. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that one of the first sets of instructions will be about the priority consideration to be given to provincial accords.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

Simply guaranteeing that your minister will uphold the terms of the Accord just doesn't cut it, as far as lawmakers are concerned. They had made provision in the act for a refugee appeal section. However, this provision has yet to be implemented. Another piece of legislation brought forward by the Bloc Québécois needs to be adopted in order for this provision to be implemented. Your assurances are not convincing. In other words, you're telling me to rely on the good faith of the minister and of future ministers.

[Richard Fadden]

Yes, but also on the record of citizenship and immigration ministers, not just in this government, but in the past government as well. Since the ratification of the Canada-Quebec Accord, the federal government has always fulfilled its commitments.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

Getting back to the backlog, in my presentation, I argued that moving someone to the front of the queue doesn't change the actual number of people in the queue or the average wait time. Obviously, the person who has been moved to the front of the queue won't have to wait as long.

Quite apart from the provisions calling for additional resources to be invested in the system, the measure set out in Part 6 of Bill C-50 is not designed to reduce the number of people in the queue, but rather to allow people at the back of the line to move to the front, in order to satisfy our economic requirements.

Is that not in fact the purpose of this provision?

[Richard Fadden]

Yes and no. I agree with your second point. One of the bill's aims is to allow the minister to select individuals using ministerial instructions.

One of the aims of the proposed legislation is to address the backlog. How are we planning to do this? Once the ministerial instructions have been issued, the backlog will stop growing. The department plans to invest 70% of its resources in eliminating the backlog. It also plans to follow through on two or three of the initiatives mentioned by Ms. Finley in her presentation.

If the bill is adopted, there would thus be two categories of individuals who could apply to come to Canada: those who are already in the queue and those who will make up the new category, or working inventory. They will remain a part of the working inventory for a maximum of one year and in time, the current backlog will be eliminated.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

I see.

Regarding the current backlog, or working inventory, what can be done to process applications more expeditiously than in the past? Because of the instructions, will people be less interested in applying for immigration, meaning that there will be fewer applications to process?

[Richard Fadden]

Absolutely not. One of the major changes proposed in the bill would see the Government of Canada processing only a certain number of immigration applications every year. The problem encountered most often is that we accept between 240,000 and 260,000 applications a year, but only 400,000 can be processed. We're dealing with a significant imbalance.

With this legislation, the government will be able to say that anyone can apply to immigrate to Canada in a given year, but the department will only process a limited number of applications. Applications over and above the limit will not be processed. Applicants whose applications are not processed will be able to reapply the following year.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

So then, it is a purely mathematical equation. These individuals are not taken into account in the calculations and are no longer considered to be part of the backlog. Yet, their applications will not have been processed. It's a clever bit of accounting.

[Richard Fadden]

It is not a clever accounting trick, but rather a policy change that the government is proposing to Parliament in order to limit the number of applications to be processed.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Thank you, Mr. Fadden.

Madam Chow.

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

I see that in the estimates there is a $2.6 million cut due to Budget 2007 cost-efficiency savings. What got cut? Where did you find the efficiencies?

[Richard Fadden]

I think what we did, Mr. Chairman, was ask all of the elements of the department to reduce their ongoing expenditures by an amount that made up $2.6 million. I think every department of government has slight excesses in their budgets. We didn't cut a program. We didn't significantly reduce one program. We reduced, for example, travel a little bit. We reduced training a little bit. We went across the board.

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Would you be able to table to this committee what was taken out of each of the departments so that we know precisely what category the $2.6 million came from and what the reduction was? Can you provide us with that detail?

[Richard Fadden]

I'll do what I can, but I doubt if I can do it down to the last dollar.

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

It doesn't have to be to the last dollar. You know, $2.6 million is not a small sum.

[Richard Fadden]

We'll make an effort.

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Thank you.

Have you ever advertised before an act or a bill in front of the House has been approved?

[Richard Fadden]

My understanding is that CIC has not.

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

CIC has not done so. So this will be the first time that money is spent on a bill. Thank you.

Of the $2.4 million that is in the budget in front of us, for the government advertising program, on page 10 of your estimates, you spent $1.1 million, so you have another $1.3 million left. What do you plan to use it for?

[Richard Fadden]

I think it's a broadening of the communication effort that has gone on already. The intention, I think, is to use a large part of it in mainstream media.

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

On what issue?

[Richard Fadden]

Explaining this bill.

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

So the entire $2.4 million is really targeted for Bill C-50?

[Richard Fadden]

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

So that would be rolling out later on. It would be the first time.

In terms of the 2006 budget, on the immigration section alone the budget is $244.8 million. It's now down to $164.86 million in the main estimates for 2008-09. That's a cut of 49%, according to my math. How much was transferred and how much was cut?