Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Dec. 7th, 2017

[Paul MacKinnon, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Program Policy, Department of Citizenship and Immigration]

Maybe our colleagues from operations want to speak to that, but we have had an increase in citizenship applications.

[Dr. Harpreet Kochhar, Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration]

Thank you, Chair.

We have seen a significant increase since Bill C-6 came into force. The numbers have doubled or tripled over the weeks, but now it is coming to a plateau. We put in place enough—

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you. I'm afraid I have to cut you off there.

Go ahead, Ms. Rempel.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

It's my understanding that the government has recently gone to tender for a vendor that will write Canada's citizenship test, and it's also my understanding that the government has decided to revise Canada's citizenship guide. Ostensibly there will be expenditures related to this decision, and my questions relate to the content of both instruments. They have relevancy related to the expenditures included therein.

Will the minister reverse his decision to remove female genital mutilation from Canada's citizenship guide?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

I haven't done that, and the assertion that.... First of all, the citizenship guide hasn't been written. We're still in the consultation stage to put together—

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

The draft—

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Can I finish my answer, please?

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

I don't have enough time.

The draft guide—

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

I'm trying to finish my answer.

Mr. Chair, can I finish? I've been asked a question. I'd like to finish my answer—

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

Mr. Chair, I have a point of order. I was asking a yes-or-no question. I appreciate—

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

I've been asked a question and I'd like to finish my answer, please, if that's possible.

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

Mr. Chair, I have a point of order on decorum. You must appreciate I have a very limited amount of time to question the minister. I'm looking for a yes-or-no answer, not a talk-the-clock answer. I will be brief, and for—

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

The honourable member is suggesting that I've removed something from a product that hasn't been completed, so I'd like to set the record straight about that—

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

It is a convention of this committee that it is the member's time, so I'm afraid I have to let her ask the question.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Is it yes or no, Minister? The document that was released, or leaked, earlier this year, Canada's citizenship guide, was that not—

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

The citizenship guide has not been written.

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

Will female genital mutilation—

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

It has not been written.

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

Will female genital mutilation be listed as—

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

The citizenship guide has not been written yet.

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

Will female genital mutilation be listed as an intolerable practice in Canada in the—

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

The citizenship guide has not been written yet. We're consulting stakeholders. Thank you.

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

Minister, this is a yes-or-no question.

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

It's not.

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

Female genital mutilation affects over 200 million women worldwide. We're talking about a woman's clitoris being cut off to remove her sexual agency.

This is a practice that happens because it's shrouded in silence. The reason it's in Canada's citizenship guide right now is to arm women with an understanding of their rights. Will you commit today to ensuring that this practice is listed as an intolerable practice and a crime, as it currently is?