Citizenship and Immigration Committee on May 29th, 2018

[Nick Whalen, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Hussen, my first question is to you. It seems that periodically Canada experiences irregular migration from different sources: in the early 2000s, from Mexico; last summer, from Haiti; and now this year, there's an issue regarding Nigeria.

Can you speak a little as to how the government has learned from each of these experiences, and what we're doing better this year compared with last year and the early 2000s in order to stem the flow of irregular migrants at our borders? Are there other countries of origin that the department has identified that you're responding to currently?

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

The global picture is very clear. There are more people on the move now than ever before, since the Second World War. We're certainly not immune to those pressures. Many other countries have received irregular migrants at much higher numbers than Canada. To a certain extent, we are insulated by three oceans, but we have a southern border and that is something that we are experiencing this year.

In terms of what we are doing to adapt, the lessons we learned from the influx last year we were able to put into a national contingency plan that is regionally specific, which has really put us in a much better position this year in terms of our response. Our outreach campaign has had an impact in terms of diaspora communities in the United States that were impacted by the temporary protective status regime in the United States. We have not stopped that outreach campaign. In fact, it has been extended outside the United States. That's important, because there's a lot of misinformation that preys on people to tell them that jumping the border into Canada is actually a free ticket, and we tell them that's not the case.

[Nick Whalen, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

Along those lines, many of the legitimate concerns that the opposition parties have with respect to the irregular border crossings relate to Canada's being a generous country with regard to refugees and asylum seekers. We look around the world. We work closely with the UNHCR to make sure we identify the most vulnerable, and there's a concern that many of the irregular border crossers are not proper asylum seekers, that they aren't the most vulnerable people in the world, and therefore, they're queue-jumping. They end up in Canada potentially for long periods of time.

What are each of your departments doing to make sure that we're quickly and efficiently processing these applications? What arrangements are we making with our international partners to ensure that these false asylum seekers can be quickly rendered back to their home countries?

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

That's a good question.

On the issue of who is entitled to refugee protection and who is not, that is determined by the Immigration and Refugee Board. Each and every asylum claimant gets to present their case in front of the IRB. If they're found to have a legitimate refugee claim, they get to stay in Canada. If not, they're removed. It's as simple as that.

What we've been trying to do is to sensitize diaspora populations in the United States to give them the full picture and full information on our immigration and asylum systems, so that they're able to dispel misinformation that's been fed to them. We have engaged with NGOs that serve those communities, so they can also disseminate that information.

In addition to that, we're working very closely with the United States, because specifically Nigerian nationals are coming to our border. Many of them have valid U.S. visas. If you're able to gain entry into the United States, the safe third country agreement states that you should claim asylum in the first country of presence. We're working with the United States to share information so that they can tighten their visa issuing regime and get the co-operation of Nigeria with respect to the issuing of travel documents.

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

Specifically on the question as it relates to CBSA, the additional resources that were obtained in the budget will assist CBSA and the RCMP in all elements of what they do in managing the border: first of all, ensuring safety and security at the initial border crossing; second, following up on investigations and security clearances and the necessary documentation that needs to be achieved; and then third, pursuing the process of removals. Having the extra resources will help CBSA and the RCMP to improve in all three of those categories of activities.

Second, we are focusing on countries that have historically declined to be co-operative in the removals process. Obviously, if we're removing someone, we're removing them not to the United States but to some other country. We need to get travel documents from that country, so that the person can be returned to that country. Most countries co-operate. A few do not. Minister Hussen was very successful in dealing with Nigeria just a few weeks ago in order to gain its higher degree of commitment to co-operate with Canada in supplying the necessary travel documents to facilitate removals.

CBSA is working on the backlog that exists, and its process should be able to show increased results over the course of the spring and summer.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you, Minister.

Thank you committee. It's just after one o'clock, so we're going to end there.

I thank you and look forward to your next appearances.

The meeting is adjourned.