Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Nov. 27th, 2018

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

What nationalities are currently most represented among the illegal border crossers?

[Marta Morgan]

Do you have that, Paul?

[Paul MacKinnon]

On irregular asylum claims from January 1 to October 28, 2018, we have Nigeria at just over 7,000; the U.S.A. at 971, and that's primarily children who were born in the U.S.; Colombia, 934; Pakistan, 569; Haiti, 554; and then “other”, at about 7,000. That's just over 17,000.

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

Last fall we were told the IRB's processing capacity was about 24,000 cases a year. What's the IRB'S current processing capacity?

[Marta Morgan]

The current processing capacity of the IRB is about 32,000 a year.

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

How many cases are we able to process per month and then per year?

[Marta Morgan]

At 32,000 a year, if divided by 12, it would be.... Sorry. It's on a even flow, although—

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

No, you're absolutely right. That was a silly question.

[Marta Morgan]

I would say that as the IRB is ramping up its capacity based on the $74 million received in last year's budget. We would expect that number to be growing on a monthly basis.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you. I need to end you there.

Ms. Zahid, you have five minutes.

[Salma Zahid, Scarborough Centre, Lib.]

Thank you, Chair, and thanks to our officials today.

The estimates contain $3 million in funding under the migrant smuggling prevention strategy for delivering basic services to intercepted migrants and for their voluntary return and reintegration. I see this as a part of the whole-of-government approach to migrant smuggling, with funding also being provided to different agencies such as CSIS, the RCMP and GAC.

Could you please discuss the IRCC's role in combatting human smuggling?

[Daniel Mills]

The department's strategy consists in coordinating the efforts deployed by all of the departments to disrupt the organized passage of clandestine individuals likely to head toward Canada, and we encourage co-operation among foreign countries by strengthening their capacity to detect clandestine entries and put an end to them.

The funding IRC requests is thus to provide basic services to intercepted migrants such as food, shelter and medical care.

[Salma Zahid]

I note that over $387,000 has been allocated to the IRB under funding for the 2018 to 2020 levels plan for operating expenditures for claims processing. Are there specific claims that this additional funding is being allocated to address? Also, has the legacy claims backlog been cleared?

[Daniel Mills]

The $387,000 the IRC will receive or is requesting in supplementary estimates (A) is truly related to the work it must do because of the increase in asylum seekers and refugees.

As you know, when people cross the border, they are processed by the Immigration and Refugee Board. Since the reference levels increase from one year to the next, they receive proportionate funding.

[Marta Morgan]

With respect to the legacy backlog, the IRB has 45 part-time members working on the legacy task force, which is focusing primarily on cases referred before December 2012. There are still some legacy cases outstanding, but good progress is being made on that task force. I think they're getting close.

[Salma Zahid]

This amount of $387,000 is just for the new cases? It will not be used towards the legacy cases.

[Daniel Mills]

This aims to increase their capacity to process files. The amount will go to increasing productivity in general.

[Salma Zahid]

I know there were some questions already discussed with regard to the money for housing the irregular migrants—the money that has been allocated especially for the provinces of Ontario and Quebec to handle the irregular crossers.

Have the issues raised by the City of Toronto last summer been addressed specifically, and have most now transitioned to permanent housing?

[Marta Morgan]

The City of Toronto received $11 million last summer to assist it in addressing the pressures on its housing system. We continue to work very closely with the City of Toronto to understand the implications of the increase in asylum seekers overall on the city, and that is an ongoing relationship.

We also assisted Toronto in finding temporary accommodations for asylum seekers when they needed it, and those contracts were recently extended at the request of the City of Toronto.

We are in close communication with the City of Toronto regarding the implications of the increase in the asylum seekers in terms of housing.

[Salma Zahid]

Has there been any further asks by the City of Toronto, or...?

[Marta Morgan]

The City of Toronto continues to communicate with us about the pressure, and we are trying to understand that with them and better understand what the extent of the pressure is and what the implications of the asylum system are. There are ongoing communications with the City of Toronto on this issue.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you.

As an MP from Toronto, I thank you on behalf of Toronto.

Ms. Kwan, you have about two minutes, and you'll bring us home.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I note in the supplementary estimates that dollars are being expended, $3 million for the TFWP and the IMP programs. Could the staff advise whether any of these funds are directed to the caregivers program?

[Paul MacKinnon]

No. That $3 million is associated with building a technological interface between our department and ESDC to share information around compliance of temporary foreign workers, so there's no link to caregivers.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

What work is being done for the care program development? What resources are being directed there, and what work is being done in that stream?