Citizenship and Immigration Committee on July 18th, 2016

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

You also talked about caps. Again, we're looking at Yazidis. We know that there's a great demand for private sponsor groups to bring Yazidis to Canada, that they are Iraqi nationals. Is it true that the previous government exempted both Syrians and Iraqis from the mission caps for private sponsorship?

[Sarita Bhatla]

To my recollection, that's correct.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

When did this process change?

[Sarita Bhatla]

I would have to get back to you on that.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Has that process changed? Are Iraqis and Syrians exempt from mission caps for private sponsorship under the current government?

[Sarita Bhatla]

I'll return and let you know.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

When will you be able to get us that information?

[Sarita Bhatla]

As soon as possible.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Thank you.

We will be writing a letter to the minister, we hope. Certainly the Conservative Party will be. We would like that information as soon as possible. It surprises me that we're in front of committee today without that information.

I'll turn it over to Mr. Kent.

[Peter Kent, Thornhill, CPC]

I'd just like to continue to try understand why the current government is not prioritizing the acceptance and processing of persecuted minorities, including the Yazidis and others.

Mr. Orr, I come back to your point that to be eligible for resettlement in Canada, refugees must be outside their country of origin. Given the unique nature of Iraq today and the Kurdish autonomous region within Iraq—a subnational state but probably the most secure part of the country, with international air travel to and commerce with continuing in that part of Iraq today—a minister of the Kurdish autonomous government, if you will, came to Ottawa in December. The minister spoke to a number of groups and was pleading for Canadian assistance for persecuted minorities who are afraid to go into the UNHCR camps because they would be persecuted there, as they were persecuted after the fighting began and the internal displacement began.

Is Canada unable to access these people to determine...? Apparently they are there. The Kurdish autonomous authorities have said they would enable Canadian access to these persecuted groups, non-UNHCR designated ones. Has there been any attempt to investigate, to get in and assist them? This is one of the largest groups of Yazidis.

[Robert Orr]

We are exploring what would be possible as we understand it at the moment. The security situation keeps changing in northern Iraq and Kurdistan. We would have to reflect carefully on what the protection needs would be and if it is possible and viable to operate there. It's not clear that it is.

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

Mr. Ehsassi for five minutes, please.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

I wasn't aware that I was actually on the list. I will pass my time to Mr. Virani, who has asked to be provided some time.

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

This is for the IRCC officials.

I will put to you my understanding, as well as the understanding of the CBC, and you can just clarify for me whether it is correct or not. My understanding is that the areas of focus policy of the previous government was to favour ethnic and religious minorities to the exclusion of Sunni Muslims in the region. Is that your understanding?

[Robert Orr]

The areas of focus did mention minority groups as being a priority for referrals to us from the UNHCR. I will not comment further on that.

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

The areas of focus program was cancelled by the current government because it believes that a refugee is a refugee, somebody who meets the 1951 Geneva Convention definition. That could include anyone of any religion, including Sunni Muslims. Is that understanding correct?

[Robert Orr]

That is correct. We are concerned about vulnerability.

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Do you have a sense of the number of Sunni Muslims who have come into the country since this government came into office under the GAR program and how that compares with the previous government's acceptance of Sunni Muslims under the GAR program?

[Robert Orr]

Mr. Chair, we do not track religion or ethnicity in our statistics, so I cannot give you any indication of that. We do know, though—anecdotally, certainly—that a very large percentage of the Syrians who have arrived are Sunni Muslim.

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Also, the number of GARs that have arrived since November 4 has gone up. Is that correct?

[Robert Orr]

Indeed, particularly, as you are well aware, because of the very significant Syrian initiative.

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

We understand from other testimony before this committee that the department has plans to go into northern Iraq, including into Erbil, in the fall. Is this a safe area to go into at this point?

[Robert Orr]

Erbil continues to be an area we are watching. Currently we continue to make plans to try to go into Iraq—to interview Syrians, in fact, in Erbil.

This will be one of the first trips IRCC has made into that area. Significant security precautions have to be to taken as we move into that. But it will perhaps be a bit of a barometer on whether we would be able to function with other groups in that area.

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

The trip at this point is not yet finalized. Is that correct?

[Robert Orr]

That is correct.