Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Nov. 19th, 2012

[Les Linklater]

There are about 50. The United States is a key one. Most of western Europe, the European Union, all EU countries except Romania, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic, and also Australia, New Zealand, and Japan....

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Okay.

I know that my Liberal Party colleague across the way was very concerned about the negative impact for foreign nationals. When I think about these changes we're implementing with this particular part of the budget bill, I don't really think of the negatives. I don't look at it in terms of that. I think of it as a positive impact on the safety and security of Canadian citizens, which I believe is paramount. I believe that to be, first and foremost, the most important thing that any government is responsible for.

I'm just going to ask this question: if a foreign national wants to visit Canada, do you believe that it's a burden for them to have to fill out an application?

[Les Linklater]

Well, we have a very robust visa system now. We know that in key markets, such as China, India, and Brazil, the numbers are skyrocketing. People are continuing to apply for visas. That's why we're expanding our visa application centre network: to help deal with some of the growth in volumes. But we have seen year-over-year growth—in the double digits, in some markets—given the attractiveness of Canada as a destination.

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Do you think the average Canadian would consider it to be an issue for someone who wants to visit Canada to actually fill out and apply for an eTA?

[Les Linklater]

Well, if there are opportunities to add to our tool kit, to be able to manage access to Canada and to reduce threats, I think it makes sense that those types of initiatives be advanced.

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Thank you.

Now, I've heard a number of colleagues talk about cost recovery. I think you mentioned that there was some cost recovery, but you didn't have the exact figures.

[Les Linklater]

Yes.

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Are you referring to the fees that are charged?

[Les Linklater]

That's right.

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

So the fee itself will actually pay for the system...?

[Les Linklater]

Over time, yes.

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

That's good to know. Thank you.

But there are also other costs involved, and I know there was concern about the negative impact of the costs associated with screening people ahead of time. It's cost recovery—

[Les Linklater]

That would be built into the fee.

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

—so that's good to know, but what are we actually gaining in terms of costs by preventing someone from actually arriving at our border and then having to deport them, remove them, or even escort them out?

[Les Linklater]

Well, as I said, in terms of rejected claimants, under the new system that's coming on stream toward the end of the year under Bill C-31, we estimate taxpayer costs at about $29,000 a year for a failed claimant. If we're able to address a number of those issues, particularly from countries that are visa free—Hungary for one, where we do have a large influx or have had a large influx of refugee claimants from a country without a visa—the eTA is another tool to help us manage those pressures as well.

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

You've mentioned Bill C-31, which has to do with the bogus refugee claimants. We had someone from CBSA here back on February 14, and in terms of removing someone from Canada, he talked about general costs of $1,500 just to remove them—I believe it was $15,000 if you had to have someone escort them out of the country.

It's interesting that you've mentioned the large costs associated with Bill C-31, but outside of people coming to Canada and just claiming refugee status when they're not refugees, this eTA system will actually provide general savings in different areas.

[Les Linklater]

Cost avoidance—yes.

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Thank you.

Ms. Freeman.

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to thank the witnesses for being here this morning.

With respect to Bill C-45, and more specifically the electronic authorization service in the context of the User Fees Act, I would like to know what recourse there would be if mistakes are made when electronic authorizations are processed.

[Les Linklater]

Unless I'm mistaken, you're talking about an instance where we would receive information after an eTA has been issued.

The information will be entered into the system very quickly. When the person wants to travel to Canada, that information will be in the system at the airport and will indicate that there is a problem and that a visa officer must intervene to clarify the information in the system or to find out why the eTA was refused.

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

With respect to Bill C-45 and the biometric measures of the User Fees Act, I would like to know what recourse applicants will have if the minister decides to eliminate the backlog of files having to do with electronic authorizations or biometric measures, as he did in the context of Bill C-38 with files from before 2008.

[Les Linklater]

We plan to use eTA as a tool in the case of temporary residents, where we don't have a backlog. There are some processing delays, but as you mentioned, we expect that, for the vast majority of applicants, the eTA system will make it possible to make a decision in a few minutes. As for people who must see a visa officer, the delays will be fairly short. We are talking about two to three days to hold a meeting to clarify the eTA decision.

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

How long will this information be kept?

[Les Linklater]

As Ms. Welbourne mentioned, we are currently working with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to determine how long we are going to keep the information, how we will use it and, should we share the information with the United States, how we will go about doing so.