Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Nov. 7th, 2017

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

Five?

[Dawn Edlund]

—people who have come to individualized counselling.

What the Canadian Mental Health Association has told us, though, is that in situations like this you have the initial euphoria when people arrive in Canada, and then their mental health needs resurface six to 24 months in. These people are partially getting services from the provinces and territories, and partially coming to us. Then we have 50 individuals who have access to IFH services for medications, which are possibly related to mental health supports.

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

Out of 590 Yazidis, five have access—

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I need to cut you off there, Ms. Rempel. I'm sorry.

I want to make sure I have time for Mr. Fragiskatos and his five minutes.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all of you for being here today.

My colleague Mr. Tabbara asked about the number of Yazidis who were able to enter Canada from the summer of 2014, when the real violence targeting Yazidis emerged in the area around Sinjar, over the course of the next year. What is known on this comes from an audit that shows that three Yazidis, in fact, entered Canada over that period. Details about this were revealed in reports that emerged in July 2016.

On that point, in fact, I have a question for IRCC. Did the previous government express any interest to your department about admitting Yazidis into Canada, beginning in August 2014, when the devastating violence emerged in the Sinjar region of northern Iraq?

[Jean-Marc Gionet]

Certainly, my recollection is that there were discussions at the time in terms of exploring the situation and what could be done in response to the situation.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

I'm talking about putting in place a focused plan of resettlement.

[Jean-Marc Gionet]

Again, there were discussions. As the situation was evolving, we were asked to look at the situation. For example, was the time right for a resettlement? How would resettlement—

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

I'm sorry. “Was the time right for a resettlement?”

[Jean-Marc Gionet]

In terms of—

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

We know that thousands of people were fleeing. They were trapped in mountains without access to water in conditions where the temperature ranged between 40°C and 50°C, and there were still these preliminary discussions to see if it was appropriate.

[Jean-Marc Gionet]

Perhaps I misspoke there. In terms of resettlement, it's not—

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

You didn't misspeak. The previous government didn't act correctly.

[Jean-Marc Gionet]

Resettlement is not always the first and immediate response to a humanitarian crisis. First and foremost is looking after the safety and security of the individuals. The UNHCR steps in and looks to find durable solutions for the individuals' protection in the country or in a country of asylum, and eventually the discussion turns to whether there is a need for resettlement out of the region for some individuals.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Did it move along this path? Was any concrete plan put forward by the government with your department? It doesn't sound like it.

[Jean-Marc Gionet]

The plan that was ultimately put in place was announced in February 2017 as a follow-up to the unanimous motion in Parliament.

[Dawn Edlund]

There was the resettlement of Iraqis who were outside of Iraq, the commitment of 23,000 we did over the course of several years under the previous government. We didn't know it because we don't track it, but that did bring Yazidis to Canada.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

I'm talking about emphasis on Yazidis by the previous government. We've seen the opposition, after the most recent election, for example, proclaim a real interest in the persecuted minority that are the Yazidis. I want to see where the facts lie.

I have another question, about federally supported services available to Yazidi newcomers.

Ms. Edlund, you talked about the interim federal health program. Could you expand on that and tell us about the program and how Yazidis can access it? What benefits are available?

[Dawn Edlund]

This is the same as what's available for all resettled refugees. We have the programming in place for resettlement, which involves income support over the period of a year. There's another program called the joint assistance sponsorship where, for particularly vulnerable families, that income support can be extended to a two-year period. That's income support.

Then we have interim federal health, which is in relation to these individuals. Because they're permanent residents, it's a top-up to what they would get from their normal provincial health services.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

I don't mean to interrupt; there are just time constraints.

How critical is this to their transition, in terms of integration? Can you speak to it even from a values-based perspective? How important is this program?

[Dawn Edlund]

The interim federal health, in particular...?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Yes, and refugee access to it..

[Dawn Edlund]

What we know for this particular group is that 636 people have accessed interim federal health services. The highest number of services have been in relation to medications and to vision care.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Would it be irresponsible for a government to cancel that access?

[Dawn Edlund]

That would be the government choice at the time.