Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Nov. 22nd, 2016

[Reid Sirrs, Director General, Mission Security, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada]

No.

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

Ms. Lamoureux, has the government had any discussion with you whatsoever about potential numbers, in terms of how many would be coming here? We're already a month into the mandate given by Parliament. Has there been any discussion up to now of targets for the number of Yazidis to be resettled through this initiative?

[Emmanuelle Lamoureux]

We've had internal consultations with IRCC, but I would not be able to comment on numbers. I think it's probably for IRCC to provide the numbers, but they have consulted us on these issues, yes.

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

Do you think that not understanding the target number to be resettled is a possible impediment to achieving the 120-day objective, given your operational requirements?

[Emmanuelle Lamoureux]

I'm sorry; just to be clear, there have been specific numbers discussed with IRCC, but I would prefer them to disclose those numbers, because it is their prerogative.

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

We're here to discuss the efficacy of the government's plan to achieve this goal. To clarify, numbers have been discussed, but nobody is willing to disclose them here at a parliamentary committee today. Is that correct?

[Emmanuelle Lamoureux]

The numbers should be disclosed by IRCC. I believe there was discussion of numbers in the previous session, speaking to 50—

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

Let me just interject. The previous session was in camera, and we have to be mindful of that.

[Emmanuelle Lamoureux]

Thank you.

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

I'll just note for the record that the number 50 was put on the record here.

Regarding the comment about territory being previously occupied, this particular concern around the forced resettlement has definitely come up with some of our stakeholder groups. Certainly we've seen it from the Kurdish government. We understand that this a complicating factor in the rollout of this particular measure.

The German government has called upon the international community to look at the establishment of safe zones, given the political fluidity in the region. Is this something that the government has expressed any interest in participating in, given that there is some pushback in terms of looking at resettlement as the only option in the context of what the UN has deemed to be cultural genocide of the Yazidis?

[Stephen Burt]

I could say from the perspective of the overall security situation in northern Iraq that I'm not aware of anything I would consider to be a safe zone in the current context, and I would have question marks about how you would secure such a zone.

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

Sure. Thank you.

Just in terms of operationalization of the measure that was put in front of Parliament, has any cross-departmental working group been put together or struck to put together an implementation plan to achieve the 120-day objective?

[Denis Vinette]

I don't know that I would categorize it as a working group, but certainly IRCC has reached out to the respective departments, which each have a piece of work, to make sure that we can deliver on this. They have been engaging us in terms of process, capacity, and ability to deliver in support of their effort. There is thus a lot of collaboration that will lead ultimately to the development of the final operational plan.

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

With that in mind, what are the key pieces of information that you require from the government to operationalize this within the 120-day period?

[Denis Vinette]

This time it's probably a better question for IRCC. We work in support of their mandate and their effort on the resettlement piece. As they receive that clarification or they are able to provide us that clarity, then we'll be responsive to what they require to enable the delivery of it.

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

Can you define what you mean by “that clarity”? What pieces of information, in terms of clarification, would you be looking for from IRCC?

[Denis Vinette]

It's a question of when we start, when key decisions are taken in regard to beginning their component—the front-end piece—to determine and identify refugees for potential resettlement. That will kick in the same process we utilized in Syria, in which interviews begin and selection and screening begin, ultimately leading to a risk determination that allows them then to make the final determination that this particular individual and perhaps their family members have been selected for travel to Canada.

We then work downstream from that: how does transportation take place, where do the arrivals take place, how do we receive in Canada upon arrival? What are the steps to provide support beyond that?

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

Do you anticipate being able to mobilize or to implement that particular mandate within the roughly three months that we have left on the 120-day deadline?

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

You have 20 seconds.

[Denis Vinette]

I'm not the one who is in a position to be able to confirm that for you. We are positioning ourselves to be extremely responsive in recognizing that the deadline, that 120 days, has been stated as a commitment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

Thank you.

Go ahead, Ms. Kwan, for seven minutes, please.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thanks very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you to all the officials.

I think I'm just going to go down the line here.

Just further on this question about the timeline to deliver on the mandate, do any of you feel that within your department's capacity you will not have the capacity to help the government deliver within that timeline?

[Stephen Burt]

I can only speak to the security situation in the region, but we have been consulted and are being consulted on that, and we are able to deliver.

[Catherine Parish]

Yes, we'll be able to deliver.

[Denis Vinette]

Same here. We're positioned for that.