Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Feb. 17th, 2011

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Perhaps you could conclude, Mr. Minister, please.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

—and this funding relates to that project, primarily.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Thank you.

Mr. Oliphant.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Minister, I have one quick question with two parts. In your earlier defence of numbers, you said that all points of service numbers don't include in-Canada applications. You may not have this number at your fingertips, but your officials might. What percentage of parent or grandparent visas issued last year were in Canada, and what percentage of family class visas issued last year were in Canada? I'd like to get a sense of what the real numbers are that you want me to know. If you don't have them, we can get them later.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

I'm going to refer these questions to Madame Deschênes.

[Claudette Deschênes, Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration]

I'm going to have to check, but for parents and grandparents it would be zero percent. All of those are processed—

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Zero percent?

[Claudette Deschênes]

Yes. What we were talking about is spouses and dependent children, of whom about, I think off the top of my head—and I'll have to double-check—2,000 persons are landed in Canada each year.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

That's 2,000 out of...?

[Claudette Deschênes]

That is out of the total amount.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Which is...?

I'm just trying to get a percentage.

[Claudette Deschênes]

It was 43,000 last year.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

That's 2,000 out of 43,000, about 4% or 4.5%.

So it's zero percent. I just wanted to clarify, because we were being told by the minister that the numbers included everything. I was pretty sure it was zero percent.

[Claudette Deschênes]

The minister was talking about family class in total.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Thank you.

Mr. Minister, you have a passionate defence for a non-political system of listening to your officials on the targeting numbers. We appreciate that maybe this is not political. Can you explain the difference between this decision and your comments at the Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism, at which you said “We have de-funded organizations, most recently like KAIROS, who are taking a leadership role in the boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign regarding Israel”? Can you confirm how you knew this?

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Mr. Oliphant, we're in the immigration committee.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

It goes to credibility as to whether the officials really are making the numbers or whether they're political. He's talking apples and oranges.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

I don't think that question has a thing to do with this topic—with estimates or settlement services.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

I think he has defended the numbers saying that officials make the decisions; yet all week we've been hearing that officials don't make the decisions, that the government is proud that they make the decisions.

Which is it, apples or oranges?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

With respect to Kairos, I refer Mr. Oliphant—Reverend Mr. Oliphant—to my—

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

It's “Dr.” too—

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

—Dr., Reverend, and member of Parliament Oliphant—to my letter in the Toronto Star in January 2009 in that regard.

I would like to invite my deputy to say whether I've ever instructed the department to have particular operational targets for any mission.

[Neil Yeates, Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration]

No. I think the short answer to that is no.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

So this department is different from others. Thank you.

This is a last question, maybe—If I don't have more time.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

You're tempting me.