Evidence of meeting #100 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was million.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
So this is not any additional funding at any point? None of the $300,000 that's being assigned as part of the $5.5 million, I think it is?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Program Policy, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
No, it's all internal allocation. It's nothing to do with the $300,000 that you see before you on this; it's a totally separate issue.
Conservative
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Just quickly, what are the processing costs to the department, if any, when a sponsorship agreement holder takes on a refugee who is privately sponsored?
Director General, Finance, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
The average processing cost for a privately sponsored refugee is $2,600 approximately, on a per unit basis.
Liberal
Nick Whalen Liberal St. John's East, NL
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm still following up with Ms. Edlund, or perhaps Mr. Kochhar, about some of the ways the appropriations are broken out.
If we look at operating expenditures, vote 1c, and the requested appropriations of approximately $13.6 million, is that for the Yazidi women and girls, or is that a mixture of different allocations?
Director General, Finance, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
That would be a combination of a number of different initiatives included in the supplementary estimates (C), so it would include the Yazidi initiative. It would also include funding for the irregular migration.
Liberal
Director General, Finance, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
It would be $10.4 million, included in that $13 million.
Liberal
Nick Whalen Liberal St. John's East, NL
And then how much is for Yazidis? I guess the balance, about $3.2 million?
I'm trying to figure it out within the line items, because I'd rather not be confused on them because they're broken down.
Director General, Finance, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
The remainder of $3 million approximately is related to the Yazidi initiative.
Liberal
Nick Whalen Liberal St. John's East, NL
Where does the other $11 million extra for the Yazidis fall? Is that in vote 10c?
Director General, Finance, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
That's right, that's in vote 10c.
Liberal
Nick Whalen Liberal St. John's East, NL
Then how much, if any, of vote 10c relates to irregular border crossing?
Director General, Finance, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
There would not be any money in vote 10c related to irregular border crossing.
Liberal
Nick Whalen Liberal St. John's East, NL
In the $1.4 million that's in vote 1c, I think Ms. Edlund already told me that $5.5 million was for the interim federal health.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
That is $5.8 million.
Liberal
Nick Whalen Liberal St. John's East, NL
Can you provide us a breakdown of how the other $4.6 million is spent, and whether or not it's spent within the department? Because I think it goes back to.... Mr. Kmiec is here now, but the member who was here previously asked a question about whether or not there was interdepartmental funding that the minister wasn't aware of back in October, and why not.
I'm going to follow up on that $4.6 million respecting irregular border crossing that's in vote 1c. How does that break down?
Director General, Finance, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
It breaks down as follows: about $3.2 million of the $4.6 million will relate to processing-related activities, that's application processing; $800,000 is for for operational support; and $500,000 is for corporate support.
Liberal
Director General, Finance, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
It wasn't necessarily a question of awareness. I think what we were looking at internally within the department is....
As costs progressed over the course of the year into the summer and into the fall, there was an outstanding question as to whether or not the department could continue to handle managing those costs internally. At a certain point, the decision was made that additional funds would be required—
Liberal
Nick Whalen Liberal St. John's East, NL
Was that decision made before or after the minister came to meet the committee in October?
Director General, Finance, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
I can't recall.
Liberal
Nick Whalen Liberal St. John's East, NL
Maybe you could get back to us because that's really the crux of the question that was asked earlier.
The other question I have relates to settlement services writ large, the transfer to Quebec, and the increase in that amount. If I look at the budget, it talks about $1.1 billion next year, but it refers to a $378-million floor in the transfer to Quebec. It seems to me that that amount needs to be stepped up based on the supplementary estimates (C).
Are we going to see you guys coming back in supplementary estimates (A) saying you need to bump up the amount under the budget for these amounts that weren't addressed, or is this somehow addressed in the budget? Is there going to be a reduction in settlement services paid to the rest of the country? How are we going to make up this overall shortfall?
