Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Feb. 26th, 2014

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Thank you.

People and some organizations have expressed concerns. They are afraid that this would give too much power to the spouse who is already here. If a woman is sponsored, the language barrier could prevent her from knowing her rights. Some husbands who sponsor their wives tell them that, if things don’t work out, they will send them back to their country. They used to do that even before this condition was established.

In terms of the language barrier, what have you set up to ensure that women who come here and do not speak English or French very well have access to information? Are the brochures that you provide in several languages? Do these women receive the brochures in person or by mail?

[Robert Orr]

I'll start off, and then I'll turn to my colleague to follow up further.

Yes, the brochure is readily available, and it has been distributed very widely. It's available certainly online.

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

In which language?

[Robert Orr]

Online it's in English and French, but it is being translated into many different languages. I don't have the actual number of languages for translation, but it is being translated. I think in some languages it's already available.

It is available at ports of entry and it is available with the service providers. We're using it as extensively as we can. Videos have been very successful as well on our website. We've had more than 153,000 hits.

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

As a last question, Mr. Orr, I see where you're going, but I don't think women necessarily receive the information directly. They need to reach out to organizations or to not be in isolated situations in order to have access to that information.

Are you aware of the problems in other countries that implemented those kinds of conditions? Other countries have set a condition like ours and they are having problems with this same new status. What types of problems are those countries dealing with?

[Robert Orr]

We're very much in contact with other countries, and learning from each other, on how we move forward on this. Perhaps Mr. Manicom can speak to that specifically.

There is an awful lot of activity to coordinate our efforts and to make sure that we're learning from each other on this.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Thank you.

Mr. McCallum.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Thank you to the officials for being here.

You say that certain sponsored spouses are in this two-year program. Which ones are in it and which ones are not?

[Robert Orr]

Those who are eligible for this are those who have been married for less than two years, or in a relationship for less than two years, and do not have children.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

So all couples in that situation are in this situation.

[Robert Orr]

That's correct.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

How long has it been in place?

[Robert Orr]

Since October 25, 2012.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Were there specific problems or challenges that led the department to adopt this program? Was there a perception of increased numbers of marriages of convenience, or...? What led you to do it?

[Robert Orr]

I think there's always been a concern about the spousal program and how it is potentially abused. I'm not sure there was any spike or anything of that nature that led us to this at this time, but I think there was an awareness that this might be another tool, if you like, to help stem abuse.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Earlier I think I heard you say that within this program in Ontario over a few months there were about 190 cases of this arrangement, and seven were deported. Is that right?

[Robert Orr]

It was 190 tips; 190 cases came to our attention one way or another.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

As having some sort of problem?

[Robert Orr]

Potentially.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Is the idea that if the couple does not remain together for two years, both will be deported?

[Robert Orr]

No, because the sponsor could well be a Canadian citizen.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Just the husband or wife who has arrived will be deported. Is that what happens?

[Robert Orr]

It could be a variety of things. It may ultimately be deportation, yes.

There also is the restriction that when someone arrives, they're not able to sponsor another spouse for a period of five years.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Okay.

I know this is very difficult, but can you give an idea of the order of magnitude of the problem? Of all the married couples who come into the country, or the spouses who come into the country, what proportion would be marriages of convenience? Would it be 1%, 5%, 20%?

I know it's not an exact science, but I'd like to know the order of magnitude of the problem.

[David Manicom]

I'll take that question.

Marriages of convenience, when identified, are refused, so they don't enter Canada. The only marriages of convenience that would enter Canada are cases that were not detected accurately by the officers.

In a way, I guess you're asking us our failure rate to identify marriages of convenience, and that's very difficult to quantify. We can't quantify it really. Data is available about the incidence of marital breakdown by visa category—