Evidence of meeting #59 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was eta.
A video is available from Parliament.
12:30 p.m.
Spokesperson, Centre for Immigration Policy Reform
[Inaudible—Editor]...the results, but I have not heard of any major problems.
I might just comment, though, on your last question, Ms. Groguhé. In the case where someone is turned down—
12:30 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Tilson
I don't think you can, sir. We're out of time. We'll have to move on to Mr. Weston.
12:30 p.m.
NDP
Sadia Groguhé NDP Saint-Lambert, QC
Mr. Chair, I would just like to ask him if he can provide any results he may have to the committee.
Would that be possible, Mr. Collacott?
12:30 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Tilson
Mr. Collacott, do you have the results of a study?
We're having trouble with the sound here—
12:30 p.m.
Spokesperson, Centre for Immigration Policy Reform
Well, I said that I'm not aware of any studies, but as far as I know, the system has worked well.
12:30 p.m.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I only have five minutes, and I have several questions.
Welcome again to our witnesses.
Welcome, Mr. Bissett and Mr. Bell.
On the west coast, Mr. Collacott, thank you for being back.
First, Mr. Bissett, you mentioned in passing the incorrect belief of Senators McCain and Clinton that those 9/11 terrorists came through Canada. Could you just make sure that we state for the record that it was incorrect and it was a deception?
12:35 p.m.
Board of Directors, Centre for Immigration Policy Reform, As an Individual
Oh, absolutely. I mean, that has been totally disapproved, but despite the efforts of the Canadian embassy in Washington and many others, it still seems to persist with a lot of Americans, including a lot of American politicians, unfortunately.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Right. I appreciate that categorical statement. We can't hear that too often.
Let me direct my questions to some economic issues.
Mr. Collacott, you referred to a Fraser Institute report. We may have already seen that in this committee, but I wonder if you could make it available through our clerk, because there are really interesting points there. You mentioned the $7 billion decrease in tourism revenues.
My first question is, can you give us two or three examples of how this eTA may help us recoup some of those tourism revenues?
12:35 p.m.
Spokesperson, Centre for Immigration Policy Reform
Well, I think it will make Americans more comfortable about coming to Canada, simply because when the system is up and fully working they'll be able to enter much more easily than in the past. Also, the American government will be more comfortable with the arrangements we have in place.
I think we'll see a resurgence of the number of day visits and overnight visits, which have gone down dramatically to well under half of what they had been before 9/11. I think it simply raises confidence in each other's border security and will result in increased revenue, particularly for the Canadian tourism industry.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
I don't want to put you on the spot, but drilling down a little bit, I understand this eTA isn't going to apply directly to American citizens coming from the United States; it would apply to visitors from other countries. Do you still hold the belief that it will help us increase tourism revenues?
12:35 p.m.
Spokesperson, Centre for Immigration Policy Reform
I think the border in general will still be fairly tight in terms of security, but I think it will be a lot easier. I take your point. The eTA does not impact directly on American citizens.
Interestingly, one of the issues in connection with cross-border traffic is that we're not now able to track who's left the country. When the whole system of the Beyond the Border action plan is implemented, we will be able to tell the Americans who has left their country because we know who has entered ours, and vice versa.
I do take your point that there's not a direct line between the eTA and cross-border travel, but when the whole of the action plan is implemented, I think you're going to see a solid resurgence of U.S. travel to Canada.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Right, so it's part of an overall picture.
Mr. Bissett, you were referring to the high removal costs when we make an error in judgment as an institutional entity and let in someone we don't think should be here, who breaches our security policies. Can you restate what that number was? I have about a minute left, I think.
12:35 p.m.
Board of Directors, Centre for Immigration Policy Reform, As an Individual
Yes, I can. The department estimates that for individuals being removed, the costs are from $1,500 up to $15,000, but they have had cases where the costs are much more than that—up to $300,000.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Sometimes over many years, as you mentioned.
12:35 p.m.
Board of Directors, Centre for Immigration Policy Reform, As an Individual
Well, I mentioned that the departmental estimates for this year were $540.7 million for removal over a five-year period.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
We see benefits in terms of increased revenues through an enhanced tourism sector and decreased costs by reducing our costs of removal, which is probably why we have three witnesses this morning who are generally very supportive of this program.
12:35 p.m.
Board of Directors, Centre for Immigration Policy Reform, As an Individual
Exactly, but the $540.7 million is just for removal. The costs of having inadmissible people in your country are much broader than just the direct costs of removing them. They are here, they get free legal advice to go before the courts, they're often being looked after—there are indirect costs for having inadmissible people.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Thanks for clarifying that.
Because we leave no witness behind...Mr. Bell, you're an expert in assessing documentation.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Very quickly, what impact do you think this eTA will have on those who use fraudulent means to get in the country?