Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Feb. 27th, 2020

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Your time is up.

We will go on to Mr. Tabbara for five minutes.

[Marwan Tabbara, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

I thank the witnesses for their statements.

I have four questions, if I can get to them.

Mr. Hallan mentioned the two-year conditional PR status for spousal sponsorship. Wasn't the reason our government looked into that and removed it the vulnerability of a lot of certain spouses, particularly females, who would end up being in an abusive relationship with their spouse? They would have to be there under a certain condition because they feared their citizenship or PR status being repealed, so they ended up being in these conditions.

Did you not see that in some of the files that were presented to your department?

[Dr. Harpreet Kochhar]

Madam Chair, that is exactly correct. There were instances where the abusive relationships existed because of that two-year condition. So that is also an important criterion.

On another note, as I mentioned earlier, there has been enough emphasis put on upfront risk assessment at the time of the assessment, which allows us to get a better idea if something is going to be a marriage of convenience; but on the other hand, that's a separate issue in terms of the two-year time frame.

[Marwan Tabbara, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

I can't speak about particular cases, but I did have two cases in my office that had been refused the first time because the officials thought it was marriage of convenience, but then they reapplied. Under the new structure, you'd get a response within 12 months. They had submitted additional documents showing their true relationship, and maybe the first time their application wasn't as solid. They provided that, and both cases got approved. That's just for your information.

[Dr. Harpreet Kochhar]

Good. I'm happy to hear it.

[Marwan Tabbara, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

My next is about Venezuela. We all know the situation and the instability in Venezuela. Technically, it's in our backyard. I've had files in my office where it's been very difficult for Venezuelans to get supporting documentation to renew their work permits or their student visas, and in turn, it's made it hard for them to renew their status here in Canada. Have we been cognizant of the instability in Venezuela?

Second, are we considering those fleeing Venezuela refugees at this point? That may be something for UNHCR, but I'll let you....

[Dr. Harpreet Kochhar]

Madam Chair, I'll try to answer the first question. Yes, we are very cognizant of the Venezuelan situation. In fact, Global Affairs and IRCC have mentioned multiple times that someone's implied status will continue if their documents are out of date or they cannot procure those documents, and we continue to allow them to be in Canada, even their time has expired. This has continued in that context.

[Marian Campbell Jarvis]

Madam Chair, if I may just add to the last part of the question, we are watching the situation in Venezuela with care, and at the moment with the current system, we feel is able to handle the situation there.

[Marwan Tabbara, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

I'll put my third and last question together really quickly. I only have a minute left.

For temporary resident visas, when we look at individuals who may have a low income but have land, a farm and assets, is that taken into consideration when they're trying to visit Canada? I'm often getting people who maybe live in rural areas and are not showing substantive income week by week or month by month, but they do have a lot of assets. The families that are here are generally well established and can look after them for the TRV, so is that a criterion you look at when approving or denying these TRVs?

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'll need a quick 30-second answer.

[Dr. Harpreet Kochhar]

Madam Chair, we do look at the whole gamut of things, including immovable property. In certain situations, if we see that we cannot confirm those land holdings—the titles, and others—and they are not into... A family of six children, and one part of that belongs to you.... It is very hard for assessment purposes at that point. More importantly, we cannot get the proper documentation at times, but we do weigh into our assessment that they may have a fixed asset that might be generating income, and we take that into consideration during our visa process.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you.

We will go to Ms. Normandin for two and a half minutes.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

For people applying for citizenship, the cost of the application is generally not an issue for economic immigrants. However, for immigrants who are refugees, for example, the cost of obtaining citizenship can increase from $100 to $630 for two adults.

Have you considered offering alternatives to low-income people seeking citizenship, such as a refundable tax credit or lower costs?

[Marian Campbell Jarvis]

Thank you for the question.

Currently, the frameworks and structures for these fees are already in place, but this may be a question to ask the minister in the future.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

I'm continuing on the issue of obtaining citizenship. We note that illiterate mother-tongue francophones, for example, have difficulty obtaining citizenship, particularly since there are new language proficiency requirements that require proof of knowledge of French. This may be a diploma or proof of passing a test.

We find that illiterate people often don't have a diploma. As far as tests are concerned, several problems arise since part of the tests are often written or, again, French tests are prepared in France. The scenarios do not correspond at all to the reality in Quebec or to the reality of Canadian francophones outside Quebec.

Are you aware of this situation? If so, are there any measures to correct these problems?

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Please give a quick 30-second answer.

[Marian Campbell Jarvis]

Briefly, I would like to bring to your attention Bill C-6, where we have added requirements to lower the age requirement for this undertaking.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Your time is up. Maybe you can come back.

Ms. Kwan, you are next for two and a half minutes.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I want to follow up my last question on the new pilots for the caregiver stream. Can the officials provide the committee with a list of the criteria for eligibility in detail? I don't think I got an answer to my last question. I would really appreciate answers on the eligibility of the program. If we receive that in writing via the Chair, for distribution to the rest of the committee, I would appreciate it.

[Marian Campbell Jarvis]

Madam Chair, I'd be happy to do that very quickly.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Sorry, I only have two and a half minutes. Thank you.

How many H and C applications are in the backlog, and what is the average processing time for those applications?

While you are looking for the answer, I'm going to ask my next question.

According to the media, at least 70 applicants were given spots to sponsor parents and grandparents in return for dropping lawsuits that claimed that the contentious online application process to reunite immigrant families was flawed and unfair. Is this true? If so, how many applications were offered through this settlement? Were there others? How many?

[Dr. Harpreet Kochhar]

Madam Chair, regarding the H and C data, we'll have to get back to you. I don't have it ready with me.

In terms of the parents and grandparents, the question is probably related to the applications that were.... I don't have any information handy on that either, neither the numbers nor the specifics of that at this point.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Could you undertake to get us that information?

[Dr. Harpreet Kochhar]

Madam Chair, could I get the specific question we're trying to answer?

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Were there side settlements for the parents and grandparents stream that were made available to people who threatened to sue the government as a result of the online fiasco that took place?

CBC reported that 70 cases were offered spots that they did not access through the online process, but were offered as a result of the threat of a lawsuit. Is that true? If so, in how many cases were spots offered? Beyond this offering of spots because of the threat of a lawsuit, were there other cases as well, and how many?