Citizenship and Immigration Committee on May 29th, 2018

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Regina—Wascana, SK]

The border between Canada and the U.S. is an amazing accomplishment. It is the longest, most open, and most successful unmilitarized boundary in the history of the world. The numbers of people who flow back and forth across that border every day—some 400,000—absolutely trouble free, and about 2.5 billion dollars' worth of trade every day, most of it trouble free, all of that is a remarkable accomplishment. It functions on the basis of officially designated ports of entry. There are roughly 120 of them across the 8,000 or 9,000 kilometres of boundary.

If you were to declare all of that boundary, all 8,000 or 9,000 kilometres, a port of entry, then you would indeed require the collaboration of our counterparts in the United States across that whole length or distance, and you would probably need a border officer about every hundred yards or so in order to make sure it wasn't a myth or a fiction.

I understand the intent behind the proposal, but quite frankly it's impractical to implement. It also means that you would diffuse the potential traffic to much more remote locations and areas across the country where enforcement would be much more difficult. In my view, it would tend to make the problem worse rather than better. I understand the intent, but in my judgment it's not an appropriate solution.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

How receptive are the Americans to proposals to fix this issue or resolve this? Border security between two countries is usually integral. We do the electronic travel advisory based on the recommendations that they wanted—a kind of border around North America. Are they receptive to resolving this issue? If so, how much so?

Can you elaborate on that?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Regina—Wascana, SK]

We have border conversations quite literally all the time. Almost on a daily basis there's a dialogue going on. In a number of areas—for example, giving advance notice of policy changes and trying to interdict travel that is inappropriate—there's co-operation, but we need to do more and we need more of their co-operation too.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you.

We're going to have time for two more five-minute rounds.

From the Conservatives, I believe Mr. Maguire and Mr. Tilson are sharing.

Who is first? Mr. Maguire.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We've heard recently that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of refusals of visas for Venezuelan visitors to Canada. While the government denies that border crossings are having an impact on other streams, is your department proactively refusing visas out of fear of a small percentage of asylum claims from those countries, in order to mitigate the numbers we're seeing at the borders?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

The fact of the matter is that asylum claimants are processed by the independent, quasi-judicial Immigration and Refugee Board. It's an entirely separate process from all the other streams of immigration. Overseas refugees, economic immigrants, as well as family-class immigrants are all processed by IRCC. In those categories, we've made a lot of progress in bringing down processing times, eliminating—

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

We've seen specifically among numbers from Venezuela—and that's my question—a dramatic increase in the number of refusals. Can the minister respond to that?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

I'm not sure what the connection is between visa refusal rates and asylum claims in Canada. I'm not quite sure what the question is trying to link.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

The government denies that border crossings are having an impact upon other streams. Is your department proactively refusing visas out of fear of a small percentage of asylum claims—as I asked before—from those countries to mitigate the numbers that we're seeing at the borders, particularly in the case of Venezuela?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Visa decisions are made by immigration officials based on the criteria of the application and based on what the individual presents—the documents and the evidence they show, the purpose of their travel, their background, their roots into the community, and so on. The risk of their overstaying or claiming asylum in Canada is certainly part of the determination process.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Of the 28,000 individuals who have illegally entered the country in the past 18 months, only 1% have been removed. This number is indicative of the chaos this is causing. There is a real concern that these illegal border crossers have to wait years to get an IRB hearing, even if they have no legitimate asylum claim. They then could apply for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

I'm asking for an ironclad commitment from you, Mr. Hussen, today, to ensure that failed asylum claimants do not get to stay in Canada because it took the IRB years and years to process their claims.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Perhaps I could respond.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

I asked Minister Hussen.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Regina—Wascana, SK]

The issue of removals is the function of CBSA. With the assistance of the budget allocations that were made in March covering this year and next year, the apparatus around removals will have more resources. Obviously the requirements of due process need to be adhered to, but there have been some procedural changes—

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Thanks, Minister Goodale.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Regina—Wascana, SK]

—that have been implemented.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Chair, 28,000 individuals—

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Regina—Wascana, SK]

We're also working very hard to get greater international co-operation on the necessary travel documents—

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

I can't believe it.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Regina—Wascana, SK]

—that need to be obtained in every case of a removal.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

My colleague across the way thinks this process that we're going through in Canada today is a model that the rest of the world should look at. We have 28,000 individuals who have illegally entered our country and only 1% have been removed, yet the government continues to say that 80% or 90% of them will go back to the United States.

How long does it take? Some of them are here for a year and a half before they get that removal notice, never mind how much longer after that it is before they are actually removed from the country. I'm asking that these failed asylum claimants don't get to stay in Canada because it took IRB years and years to process their claims. This is not a model that you'd want to pass to the rest of the world. I wonder why the minister indicates that 1% have been removed when there are 80% to 90% who, his own words indicate, should be removed. That leaves 79% to 89% of the people who are supposed to be removed, who aren't being removed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

You are at five minutes, which is your time.

If Mr. Tilson wants to ask one question, I will give a bit of extra time.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Minister Hussen, the Mayor of Toronto says his taxpayers are out $64.5 million as a result of having to deal with the influx of illegal border crossers that the minister has really foisted on his own city.

My question to you, sir, is whether you intend to reimburse the City of Toronto for the costs being imposed by this crisis.

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

We are working with both Quebec and Ontario to institute a triage system that moves asylum claimants away from Toronto and Montreal, to identify other temporary housing sites.

In terms of the reimbursement of costs that are being claimed by provinces such as Quebec and Ontario, and to a certain extent, Manitoba, those discussions are ongoing at an officials level.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you, Minister.

We have five minutes left for Mr. Whalen, or four and a half minutes.