Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Oct. 5th, 2017

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you.

It's interesting because Amnesty International did an informal study, if you will, with people who crossed over. Their interviews indicated that, in fact, people were very concerned about their safety, and that of their children, and the heightened level of discrimination that they faced, so that fear has impelled them to make that crossing. People don't cross because it's a fun thing to do. They are risking life and limb to get here, and some of them are bringing children along as well. The risks are grave. This occurred in the dead of winter. Of course, even in the summer, this is an issue as well. When I visited Manitoba, for example, the heat was unbelievable. You have both aspects of it, with the cold and the heat, that could be very detrimental to you. In any event, I'm going to leave that for now.

In terms of the work of the military—and thank you for the information—could you provide us with the amount in dollars for resources that were provided to assist in this process? It sounded to me as though it was mostly military personnel who helped provide and set up the infrastructure to help temporarily house the influx of asylum seekers. Do you have a figure you can provide us?

[BGen Lise Bourgon]

Indeed, the provision was more in labour, like soldiers setting up tents and loaning the tents that we had in our system. The only dollar value is for the manpower. The operation is still ongoing, so I can't give you a final tally of how much it will cost. We're looking at a very rough estimate right now. We can give you the official figures later on when the operation is done, but we're looking at about half a million dollars. This is a very rough estimate, because the work is still ongoing for erecting some of the tents. As it is, right now in Lacolle, there is capacity for 500 personnel in the tents. We are not going to take those tents down until there is a winterized solution available in Lacolle, so we're estimating that by about mid-November all the tents will be down.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much. I would appreciate if you could provide that information to the committee, once it's available, and break it down, so that we actually have a sense of what the line items are for that expenditure. Maybe you can tell me which budget you anticipate this expenditure will come out of.

[BGen Lise Bourgon]

That's not something I will decide. The DM will make that decision.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

When that final figure is provided, perhaps the DM can provide you with that information on what line item this expenditure will be coming out of.

Regarding your involvement, has it been only the Lacolle situation or have you been called in to provide supports in other areas as well? I'm wondering whether or not there has been any involvement with Emerson, for example.

[BGen Lise Bourgon]

No. We provided the infrastructure in Lacolle and at Nav Canada in Cornwall. We also set up more tents, as an interim lodging solution. Canadian Armed Forces support for the asylum seekers has been concentrated in Lacolle and at the Nav Canada centre. As I said, we also had our three cadet camps in Valcartier, Trenton, and Gagetown on standby, and we prepped them in case there was a requirement for excess capacity that the interim lodging could not support in Montreal. Of course, since the summer season and with the cadet courses finished, we had those three camps that could have provided for excess capacity. Each of the camps could accommodate about 500 personnel with interim lodging.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

How many people can each of the tents that was set up contain?

[BGen Lise Bourgon]

That's a very good question. I would need to go back, but it's probably around 15 to 20 people. That would be my assumption, but I'll get back to you with the actual figure.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Then, I guess—

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I'm afraid that's the end of your time.

Thank you.

Monsieur Dubourg.

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Ms. Bourgon and Mr. Cronin, thank you for being here and answering our questions.

I will begin with you, Mr. Cronin. With regard to asylum seekers, you said that no reference had been made to the Prime Minister's tweets. The Prime Minister said that Canada is an open and welcoming country, and that if people are fleeing persecution or if their lives are threatened, Canada will welcome them. That is part of our values.

We agree that we need to discuss these things. Things have changed a great deal in the past 10 years or prior to 2015—I do not know how long you have been with the department. The kind of information activities that you conducted with respect to asylum seekers is not a regular practice for you. Am I correct in saying that those are new practices for the department?

[Niall Cronin]

It's certainly something new for Global Affairs Canada in the United States. That's why we've been grateful for the support that's been shown from IRCC and CBSA. They have been able to provide us with information about the immigration process and the asylum process so that we can pass that along to communities in the United States.

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

I would also like to thank you for all your work in organizing these missions, including mine to the United States. You were in touch with community leaders. There was a direct result at the border once these trips had begun.

Is it important for you to stay in touch with the people you met in Miami, Los Angeles, and elsewhere?

[Niall Cronin]

Absolutely, and I think the benefit of the outreach is in establishing relationships with these communities so that, should something happen, should the situation change, they know where they can come for correct information.

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Okay.

Some false information was reported in the media in the United States, specifically in the Miami Herald—I do not recall the exact date in September. It was reported that there would be a Canadian official in a church basement in New York City who would tell diaspora members how to get into Canada.

Following the visits there by MPs and ministers, what does Global Affairs Canada do when this kind of information is circulated internationally?

[Niall Cronin]

I think one of the first things we would do would be to have our office in the region reach out to that outlet to correct the story. We've also been using social media channels and doing outreach to local and community media, again, to correct that misinformation. We would address it directly.

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

I have one last question for you, Mr. Cronin. You have contacts with various countries and partners. Do you share best practices? I am referring to Europe. Last year, Italy had 123,000 asylum seekers, and this year there have been more than 60,000 thus far.

For our part, 13,000 people have crossed the border into Quebec. What have you learned in your dealings with those countries?

[Niall Cronin]

That's a fair question.

I would really go back to what our remit and mandate have been. We've focused on making sure that communities in the United States have the correct information. It's a point that's worthy of follow-up in terms of what we could learn from other examples in which people have had to correct such misinformation. We do think our process of connecting with those who are serving communities in the U.S. and those who are representing communities in the U.S. is a benefit. It is one that we will continue to pursue.

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Ms. Bourgon, have you made any plans for the coming winter? Will your tents stay there for a long time? How do you see the situation since it is starting to get cold, although it is not freezing yet.

[BGen Lise Bourgon]

The winter is something we had to think about from the outset. We knew the tents were a short-term solution. In Canada and Quebec, they are not an option after October.

The Canadian Armed Forces conduct exercises all year long, but we have the necessary equipment, such as proper sleeping bags and so forth. We knew we needed a long-term solution for the winter. Since the Canadian Armed Forces were called in to help at the peak of the situation, Public Safety Canada is responsible for finding a solution for the winter.

We suggested a short-term solution to give the other federal organizations time to think ahead about an appropriate solution for the whole winter. We could buy trailers, which would be acceptable given the climate in December and the rest of the winter.

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you both.

Mr. Maguire, you have the floor.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

I'm going to let my colleague take the lead right now, and I'll share that time with her.

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

Great. Thank you.

To follow up on your line of questioning, what has the total cost been to date on the trailers?

[BGen Lise Bourgon]

The trailers are not a CAF responsibility. You would have to ask Public Safety or IRCC. I'm not sure which is responsible—