Citizenship and Immigration Committee on May 10th, 2016

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

We'll call the meeting to order. The chairman has another engagement, so, Mr. Orr, you're stuck with me again.

We're continuing on with the main estimates for the next hour. Some members of the committee have some questions.

Ms. Zahid.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

I would like to thank our officials for joining us today.

In the meeting on the supplementary estimates that we had in March, the minister discussed an additional $2.5 million that was designated to reduce a processing backlog for the live-in caregiver program. Could you please give the committee an update on the effect of that funding on the backlog?

[Anita Biguzs, Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Chair, I have a number of comments in response to the question.

The caregiver inventory actually has been reduced by about 34% as of December 31, 2015. We have been making headway in terms of the processing times. In particular, I would just note the fact that in terms of the 2016 levels plan, the range of the number of planned admissions is about 20,000 to 22,000. Looking at the last five years, we are certainly planning a higher number of admissions which will help to facilitate our ability to work through the inventory.

In that sense, we are optimistic with the additional room in the levels plan, and the work we've been putting into processing, that we should be making good headway in terms of moving through the inventory over the course of this year and next year.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

On average, by what percentage do you think it will decrease this year and next year?

[Robert Orr, Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Chair, the inventory this year, as the deputy mentioned, the levels spaces, the estimate is 20,000 to 22,000 individuals. At the end of last year, we had about 38,000 in the inventory, but we also anticipate an intake this year of about 10,500. All those things have to be taken into consideration as to where we will be at the end of the year.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

The current wait times for the live-in caregiver program are considered excessive by both the employers and the employees. The minister had spoken about raising the fee for the LMIAs and the other MIAs. Could you please give the committee an update on this and other such initiatives to reduce the wait times and strengthen the caregiver program to better meet the needs of both the employers and the employees?

[Anita Biguzs]

Mr. Chair, if I may, that is a commitment, certainly, of the government. Labour market impact assessment fees are under the responsibility of the Minister of Employment and Social Development. That department is working in terms of the follow-up required to be able to deliver on that commitment.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Some live-in caregivers feel insecure in their employment situation, and their employers sometimes take advantage of these caregivers, who are afraid to file a complaint as they fear potential retaliation from their employers. Does the department have a plan to address these concerns for the employees?

[David Manicom, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Program Policy, Department of Citizenship and Immigration]

I think the main step the government has taken in recent periods is to eliminate the live-in requirement. The live-in requirement was seen for many caregivers as creating a power imbalance situation which led to a higher incidence of either abusive situations or non-payment of overtime. There's no longer a requirement to live in the home to qualify for permanent resident programs. That is the primary step taken.

We've also put in place a large number of compliance resources and penalties to make sure that employers are subject to occasional audit and subject to penalties if they do not fulfill the requirements under which they receive the labour market opinion. Actual labour standards compliance is a provincial responsibility.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

In my riding of Scarborough Centre, I've heard a lot from the caregivers that the dependent children of live-in caregiver class applicants who turn 18 and over while the applications are being processed face further delays as additional documentation is required from them when they turn 18.

Do you have any plan to address these issues? I've heard a lot about these issues in my riding.

[Robert Orr]

The requirements are consistent, and we will be trying to facilitate these cases considerably. The fact that we have increased levels space is significant in allowing us to bring down the inventory, and thus in the longer term we will see much faster processing times, which would assist with these various issues that occur.

Right now we're in a situation where because we had restricted levels space, we weren't able to bring in large numbers, and the inventory grew.

With the 20,000 to 22,000 this year, that will help significantly to bring down the inventory. Therefore, it's easier for families to get the information together once, and they are not subject to such long processing times.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Further to this, in some cases, it currently takes more than 48 months. That's the situation. That is after the minimum work standards have been met.

Families are separated for over six years by the time the caregiver has received their PR. During the processing of the PR applications, the family overseas is required to have multiple medical examinations, each of which costs about $200 on average, to keep the file current. If they have to repeat that medical examination more than once, that's an additional burden.

Are there any plans with regard to that?

[Robert Orr]

Mr. Chair, we're very conscious of the concerns about that. Certainly we try to time the medical examinations in most cases so that the validity will not expire. The medical examination is normally valid for a one-year period, and we do our best to coordinate the timing.

As I mentioned, with reduced processing times, which we are getting into as we have more levels space, we are hopeful that the number of times people would have to repeat information, or submit documents a second time, or update things will be reduced significantly.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Mr. Saroya.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I did ask three questions last time. They were supposed to get back to me. Are they going to get back to me today, or are they going to get back to me in the future?

[Anita Biguzs]

Mr. Chair, we're certainly prepared to follow up on a number of the questions that were presented at the meeting last week.

We have a series of questions. Perhaps you could identify which of the three you want us to respond to first.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Absolutely. Thank you.

These main estimates indicate that IRCC will transfer $1.3 million to the computers for schools program of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada to facilitate the integration of Syrian refugees by providing them with computers.

First, from which department programs will these funds be transferred? Second, has IRCC funded this program in the past? If not, what is the rationale for doing so now?

[Anita Biguzs]

Mr. Chair, in response to the member's question, in fact, the main estimates include an amount of $1.3 million for the computers for schools program. This is a program of the Department of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada. Our department actually included the funding or sought the funding of $1.3 million on behalf of the Department of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development as part of the overall Syria initiative. These funds, $1.3 million, are being transferred to that department through the main estimates. In fact, the intention is to be able to provide refurbished computers for Syrian refugees to help facilitate their settlement and integration into Canada.

That department is working using its existing program authority in partnership under the computers for schools program to make these computers available to Syrian refugees either at settlement locations or in host communities. That's what these costs are for. Apparently an amount of $250,000 is for working with partners and includes hardware to support refurbishment, transportation, and software licences for additional computers, and overtime to assist staff in being able to meet the demand in a timely manner.

This is not a program that my department has. We don't have the mandate for the program, nor have we funded the program previously. It is an initiative that was identified under the Syrian national initiative, but it will be delivered by the Department of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Thank you.

Funding requested for the resettlement assistance program has substantially increased in fiscal year 2016-17 because of the government's Syrian refugee resettlement commitment, but is expected to return to a normal level in the following years.

Resettlement refugees have the right to apply for family reunification for immediate family members within their first year in Canada, which means a second wave of Syrian refugees could be expected.

How has the department prepared for this possibility in resource allocation for the resettlement assistance program for future years?

[Anita Biguzs]

Mr. Chair, in response to that question, the settlement program has an annual budget of about $589 million. Incremental funding was received for settlement services as a result of the increase in the number of Syrian refugees coming to Canada, and in fact, these estimates include additional funding for settlement services. That funding will continue over the course of the next couple of years in terms of being able to meet the settlement needs of those refugees.

In terms of our admissions for future years, that is part of our annual immigration levels process, so that in 2017 and future years levels, we actually work on identifying what the intake will be across different business lines. That includes the number of refugees. This year, of course, we've seen a tripling in terms of the number of resettled refugees in the 2016 immigration levels plan.

All of this will be factored into the 2017 and future years levels plan, in terms of the number of admissions that the government will want to achieve through the normal levels planning process.

Those costs would be factored in as part of the levels plan for the future.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Thank you.

My next question is on the media reports that IRCC is shutting down expedited processing of private sponsorship applications.

The government has indicated that all applications for Syrian refugees received prior to March 31, 2016, will be processed in 2016 and early 2017. Applications received after that time will be processed according to the usual procedures.

How many private sponsorship applications for Syrian refugees are in the processing inventory? Has the department allocated additional resources to finish processing the applications received prior to March 31, 2016? What options are being considered to respond to the ongoing interest in private sponsorship that the Syrian initiative has generated?

[Anita Biguzs]

Mr. Chair, in terms of the numbers of applications received to March 31, 2016, the number is around 12,000 for privately sponsored refugees.

We are assessing those applications currently. We have more than 65 full-time staff located in the region who do processing, but we also have dozens of staff in Canada as well, both in terms of our office in Winnipeg and also in Ottawa. We actually work across the network. We have a centralized processing network, so that we are able to work across the network.

We have dedicated staff who will be working on these applications. In addition, we are working on operational plans now. We do normally have temporary duty officers who we assign to the field. We are working on our operational plans now, in terms of being able to assess how many officers we would deploy to the field to process these additional applications that we receive to the end of March. That is with the intention, of course, as was announced, that we would finalize processing by the end of December 2016 or early into 2017. That is the planning that we're doing right now.

Otherwise, we know that there has been a great deal of response in terms of organizations and private sponsors coming forward and their interest in sponsoring refugees. Again, this will be taken into account in our 2017 and future years immigration levels planning.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Thank you.

Ms. Kwan.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the officials.

To follow up on that question, how many staff were flown back from processing the Syrian refugees overseas?

[Anita Biguzs]

We'll have to get back to you with that answer, Mr. Chair.

As I said, we certainly did deploy staff overseas as part of the big initiative. Of course, because we have resumed normal operations, those staff members have in fact been returned to Canada. We'll have to confirm the exact number.