Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Feb. 14th, 2012

[Pierre Sabourin]

In the future, with the introduction of biometrics, ETA, and interactive advance passenger information, we are going to have a lot more information in order to know who could pose a security threat to the country. If that's what you mean by “tightening”, the answer is yes.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

We're going to bring in a system whereby we get people's fingerprints. We're bringing in a system of electronic travel authority that, if I understand correctly, will apply to countries from which even presently we don't require a visa, and that may prohibit people from even getting on a plane to come here.

[Les Linklater]

I think, if I—

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Is that not tightening up security?

[Les Linklater]

I think what the suite of initiatives we're looking at will do, Mr. Chair, is on the one hand provide a broader range of tools to help us with our security work. But at the same time, there's also the facilitation side. With an ETA, for example, once we've tagged someone's identity and have done the screening overseas, the experience at the port of entry is going to be much different for that individual, because they'll have been pre-cleared before they even got on the airplane, much like pre-clearance now for us when going to the United States. We could see a time in the future, with an ETA, in which individuals arriving at a port of entry might simply walk out and pick up their bags at the baggage cart.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

So is the purpose of this to facilitate quicker entry into Canada for people visiting Canada?

[Les Linklater]

In large part it is, but at the same time we're looking at the broader suite of tools to address a population that right now we're only able to identify at the port of entry.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Just give us some general idea on the committee. Has the problem of illegal entries gotten worse over the last 10 years or been the same? Do you have any numbers on this? Are there more illegal entrants coming now to Canada than there were 10 years ago?

[Les Linklater]

Using as a proxy the number of refugee claims, the numbers are certainly lower now than they have been in the last couple of years.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Lower refugee claims?

[Les Linklater]

In terms of refugee claims, the numbers have gone down from previous years.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

That suggests that the problem of illegal entries is getting better, by that measure.

[Les Linklater]

By that measure, yes, but that's not the only measure.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Sabourin, you corrected yourself. The Canadian Red Cross, you said, does monitoring of people in detention. Are they paid to do that work? Do they get money from the federal government?

Or maybe it was Mr. Hill; I'm not sure.

[Peter Hill]

No, they're not paid to do that. They don't get payment by the CBSA to do that work.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

So the people doing the monitoring of people in detention don't receive any assistance from the federal government to do that work. Is that right?

[Peter Hill]

That's correct.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

And how often does the UNHCR inspect detention facilities in Canada? Is it on an annual basis?

[Peter Hill]

I would say it's frequently. It's systematic, in the sense that this is their mandate, and we cooperate with them to allow them to access detention centres as they wish.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Can you give me a general idea—I'm not going to hold you to it, but a ballpark: are representatives of the UNHCR going into detention facilities once a month in Canada, once a year, once a week? Do you have any idea?

[Peter Hill]

I have an idea: it's more like once a month, or more frequently than that.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I want to switch to something else, and that's what I consider to be an epidemic problem of visa rejections in many places in this country. I have a sheet here that has a list of the rejection rates, and there are at least 10 centres in this world that have rejection rates of about 50% for people who want to come here to visit Canada or visit their families.

Again, Ms. Deschênes, from my experience as an MP in Vancouver—and I have a very diverse riding as well—I can tell you for a fact that the problem of people getting turned down for visas when they own property, when they have family in India, when there is no risk factor for them to return, is epidemic. I'm just wondering whether you have any comment on that. That would be the thesis I put to you.

I've talked to other MPs. There seem to be problems this way. In fact, I would tell you, if you are a single Indian under the age of 30, male or female, and you don't own property, you're not getting a visa to come to Canada, because they profile you by saying that you're not married and you don't own property, and therefore they make a stereotypical assumption that you won't return to India. I get stories like that in my office weekly.

Is there any comment on that?

[Claudette Deschênes]

I guess I would comment that it's difficult from the standpoint of the bona fides. We're measuring intent. Unfortunately, officers have to look at past practices when they consider intent. Unfortunately, if a large number of people who fit that sort of characteristic have come and gotten visas and then stayed illegally, that makes it harder for people who are in the line. It's not easy for officers. We monitor that.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Time is up. Thank you.

Mr. Lamoureux.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

I'll continue on that theme, because we don't monitor whether or not they are returning. I want to reinforce this because it is a huge issue, whether it's India, the Philippines, or China.

I had someone just over the weekend, a very good friend, someone I've known for a long time, who is married to someone of Chinese heritage. She's been trying to get her best friend to be able to come. Her best friend has money. She has a job. She just wants to come and experience Canada and see where her girlfriend is living. She's been rejected not once but twice.

The kickback we're getting from embassies is phenomenal. It's not acceptable, the number of family rejections. People want to come for marriages, deaths in the families, birthdays, and so forth. I think if you were to canvass any member of Parliament's office where there's a high number of first-generation immigrants, you will find that this is the case.

Anyway, I'm not going to ask about that. I want to get clarification: you make the statement that there will be regulatory changes this year that will deter marriage fraud. Can you tell us exactly what you mean by that?