Citizenship and Immigration Committee on March 22nd, 2018

[Marwan Tabbara, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

That's what you're saying we need to look at with some of these appointments. They're appointed to a position for a number of years. Maybe there should be some checks on them five or six years down the line. Am I correct?

[Raoul Boulakia]

If there's a complaint, yes, I think it should be resolved.

[Marwan Tabbara, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Okay.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you very much to the witnesses.

I don't want to lose the committee's attention, because I have one little piece of business I need to do today, and it's in respect to our study on Atlantic immigration.

The report that was presented in November had a mistake in it. On page 45, the committee describes a program called the “Talent Beyond Borders Initiative”. On February 28, we received a letter from them saying it's called “Talent Beyond Boundaries”. They would like that corrected.

As you know, once we've tabled it, a report becomes the property of the House, so I need a motion passed here to get all-party agreement to change that and to have that in the House. The motion would be:

“That the Chair be instructed to seek the unanimous consent of the House to modify the Fourteenth Report of the Committee presented on Thursday, November 9, 2017, to substitute the name of the organization “Talent Beyond Borders” by “Talent Beyond Boundaries”.

(Motion agreed to)

The second thing is we are about to start....

For this study, I'm just going to tell you that if we're putting in some requests, I'm going to try to do a little thinking about the requests you've asked for. On Tuesday of next week, I'll come back with a list of the requests. There have been a few of them. I want to make sure we get them clarified. Some may require a motion and some may not.

We had hoped to finish this study by next Thursday. I am concerned that if we are asking for this amount of information, we're going to need a little longer. That's just to give you a little heads-up.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Is Thursday a sitting day for us?

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I had intended to make Thursday a committee day—yes, I'm a hired taskmaster—because that was the day we were going to finish this study.

We were going to do an hour of the last witnesses and an hour of instructions to the analysts. My sense after today is that you're asking for a bunch of information that may need to go beyond the break week anyway.

I just want to ask the committee if you have a desire to meet next Thursday, which is going to be a Friday schedule, or would you prefer not to have a meeting on Thursday?

Go ahead, Mr. Tilson.

[David Tilson, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Chairman, Thursday is a Friday schedule.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

It is.

[David Tilson, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

As well, we would be sitting during question period.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

The whips have suggested we could meet from 12 to 2 if the committee desires to meet.

[David Tilson, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

I have no desire to meet. I think we should meet the following Tuesday.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

We have two weeks of break, but just—

[David Tilson, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Well, then, whatever.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

—for the committee's awareness, it means that we may not get this study done, then, on the Thursday. Okay?

I'll take that under advisement. You know that it's at the call of the chair, but I am hearing the nodding off of the committee.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I would like to sit.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

You would like to sit.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I'm here anyway. I can't go.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

That makes two of us, but we'll see how we do.

Last, I think right now we have a date of Thursday, March.... I'm actually going to hold off on this last recommendation regarding witnesses for our settlement study, because this may now be a little premature, given that this study is going to take another week.

Just to give you advance notice, we are going to need your witness suggestions within a couple of weeks for the settlement services study, but I think today is premature to give you a date for that, because the other study is going to go a little longer. Stay tuned. I will take into consideration your advice about next Thursday.

Go ahead, Ms. Kwan.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much.

Given the wealth of information that we've received and that there's some contradictory information, I wonder if the committee may want to consider at some point—not at this moment—having the officials back at this committee for this particular study. I just want to table that for consideration. I'm not moving it as a motion.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

It's already in my mind.

I think I'm going to sit down with the analysts to go over where we're at. We may even need a summary of evidence.

I think I am going to be asking for a summary of evidence. Does the committee agree with that?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Maybe after our Tuesday meeting we'll get a summary of evidence so that we can look at those contradictions, and then we can have a better look at what we need to get.

Go ahead, Mr. Anandasangaree.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

I would say invite the PCO as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Yes. I think we need some IRB and we may need some PCO.

Let's just hold that until we get the summary of evidence. I think those are always helpful because we have it all in one place.

Is there any other business? No?

The meeting is adjourned.