Evidence of meeting #6 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was applications.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Can you hear me now?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
[Technical difficulty--Editor]
Liberal
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Madam Chair, we're happy to check into the language on the website. It's a pretty automatic extension, so let us check into that language.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Maybe I can expedite this, Madam Chair.
I've written to the minister on this issue, but I will resend this information on the issues with biometrics to the deputy and maybe I can get a response that way.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid
Okay. Can we have a commitment from the officials to get the response to Ms. Kwan's question?
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
I'd be happy to do that.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid
Okay. With this, we will end our first round of questioning before going into the second round.
Let me just check that we are okay technically or if there is any issue.
Before we start, I want to let the deputy minister know that there is some issue happening. The voice is not clearly coming in for Mr. Mills, so can you answer the questions? Would that be okay, because we have a sound issue?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid
The technician is working on it. Until we have figured it out and Mr. Mills can come in, you can answer the questions. Would that be okay with the committee members?
Okay. With that, we will start our second round of questioning.
We will go on to Mr. Chiu. Mr. Chiu, you have five minutes.
Conservative
Kenny Chiu Conservative Steveston—Richmond East, BC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
In the supplementary estimates, the additional money added to the original estimate was $22 million or $23 million, but the entire amount is close to $1.1 billion in the operating expenditures, capital expenditures and interoperability, as per the department's report from the Auditor General.
I'm curious to understand what the performance benchmarks are. IT projects could sometimes be a black hole for taxpayers' money, and these are very much of a concern for my constituents. What are the performance benchmarks to ensure that these monies are spent wisely when additional money is being put in place and that they will be able to get the value back?
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
As you know, budget 2019 announced funding to enhance the integrity of Canada's border and asylum system, and this included information technology system interoperability. This is not a new system. It is a system that will be built off our existing platform, but we're really excited about the monies here in supplementary estimates (A), because this funding will enhance the integrity of the asylum system. This will allow for increased and improved data sharing. It will improve client service by reducing processing times for claims, and it will reduce the manual processing of forms, including through the electronic submission of forms and supporting material.
For ourselves, for the Immigration and Refugee Board, and for the Canada Border Services Agency, this is really good news. This is expected to be fully operational in about two years, by this time in 2022. There are gates associated with this that came through the Treasury Board process, and I have to say that we are pretty confident in moving this system forward.
Conservative
Kenny Chiu Conservative Steveston—Richmond East, BC
Thank you.
Are there any future funding requests that you can see down the road?
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
We expect additional funding requests around further digital modernization of our IT system, but with regard to additional monies related to this particular project in terms of system interoperability, we don't anticipate additional funding.
Conservative
Kenny Chiu Conservative Steveston—Richmond East, BC
It's good that you actually brought up interoperability. Can you let the committee know a little bit more about interoperability problems that have been faced by the department?
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
This is making sure that files are able to move smoothly for asylum claimants between ourselves, the Immigration and Refugee Board, and the Canada Border Services Agency. Each of us has a role to play as those files come forward. Being able to do that in a far more efficient way is helpful in terms of timeliness, and that's helpful to asylum claimants themselves.
Conservative
Kenny Chiu Conservative Steveston—Richmond East, BC
Thank you.
Between 2014 and 2018, only one case of asylum-seeking from Hong Kong was granted protection. Given the current situation in Hong Kong and the forward-looking nature of refugee protection, is there any plan to expedite refugee or asylum-seeking applications?
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
That would be a question best addressed to my colleagues at the Immigration and Refugee Board. It pertains to the operations in their jurisdiction, and I think it would be best left for them.
Conservative
Kenny Chiu Conservative Steveston—Richmond East, BC
Okay.
I would like to use my remaining time to just thank the officials for standing up and continuing to serve Canadians in their jobs during COVID-19. I know it's not easy. It's much appreciated that we can rely on all these technologies to do so.
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid
Thank you, Mr. Chiu.
Now we will move on to Ms. Martinez Ferrada for five minutes. The floor is yours.
Liberal
Soraya Martinez Ferrada Liberal Hochelaga, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I also want to thank all the officials who, since the start of the pandemic, have been working hard to ensure that the immigration system runs smoothly and that the demand for labour in Canada can be met. Thank you for developing a number of creative and innovative procedures and directives. In any crisis, opportunities arise, and you've been able to seize them. Thank you.
I want to address some of the questions that were asked, particularly regarding biometrics. Things are returning to normal a bit. There are many questions about how to collect biometrics from workers who are already here and who have been given a 90-day extension on their work permits to collect the data.
It isn't so much the people outside Canada, but the people in Canada who need access to biometric services. They don't really know where to go or which points of service are open.
It would be useful if you could provide the list of all the directives issued in response to the COVID-19 crisis. What steps were taken with respect to the work permits? How were visas issued abroad to ensure that temporary workers could come here?
I'll give you the chance to elaborate on these measures.
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
First, on in-Canada biometrics collection, as the honourable member has indicated, we have given an extension from 30 days to 90 days for people to get their biometrics. We have these numbers constantly under review, depending on the situation and what's happening. We're working closely with Service Canada. They are our in-Canada biometrics collection points across the country. We are working with them on their reopening plans to make sure that the biometrics can be collected in Canada.
Regarding the honourable member's second question, which I think was about providing a list of accommodations that we've made, we're happy to provide it.
Liberal
Soraya Martinez Ferrada Liberal Hochelaga, QC
The purpose of my question wasn't really to obtain a list from you, but to give you the opportunity right now to elaborate on the measures that you implemented.