Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Jan. 27th, 2021

[Natasha Kim]

I would qualify, Madam Chair, that the 10,000 invitations that were issued earlier this year were invitations to apply, as opposed to approvals of applications. I don't have the information currently in terms of how many of those would have been to those applying or sponsoring someone from Hong Kong.

I would note that in terms of family reunification, there's also the super visa program that is available generally, which allows parents and grandparents to come temporarily. For those in Hong Kong, they would be eligible to come on an eTA as a visitor and be exempt from travel restrictions.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Thank you, Ms. Kim.

This is my last question. I just have a few seconds left.

Regarding the 300,000 Canadians in Hong Kong, are plans being made currently if they and their family members want to evacuate? What is the department doing in the event that we have a mass evacuation to Canada from Hong Kong?

[Natasha Kim]

I believe our consul general has stated in other forums that there has been continuous planning under way at the mission since late 2020 for such an occasion. We are not currently seeing evidence of a mass exodus or an emergency situation, but contingency planning is in place.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Sorry for interrupting, Ms. Kim, but the time is up.

We will now move on to Mr. Dhaliwal.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Mr. Dhaliwal, you have five minutes. You can please start.

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Surrey—Newton, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair. I will share my time with the parliamentary secretary.

With regard to my first question, carrying on from what Ms. Dancho asked about the trends of immigration over the past while, Ms. Kim mentioned the different streams or pathways that already exist. I would like her to elaborate on that. I would also like her to tell the committee whether they have already taken advantage of those increased numbers of immigrants we are bringing in over the next three years.

[Natasha Kim]

I'll begin with the first part of the question, regarding the pathways that are available, particularly for those in Hong Kong. I would add the layer of who can currently travel under the existing COVID-19 travel restrictions, because that is an important consideration as well.

Certainly, anyone who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and who is in Hong Kong can return at any time and is exempt from the travel restrictions. IRCC in Hong Kong is available to provide travel documents and passports in that case.

Also, there are existing work and study programs. If there is someone who has a work permit and a valid job offer, that person can be exempt from the current travel restrictions. Someone can study at a Canadian institution if that institution has a COVID-19 readiness plan that's been approved by the province or territory, so with those permits they can enter Canada.

We also have existing economic permanent resident streams, as well as our humanitarian streams. If someone was approved before March 18, under the current travel restrictions they could also enter. As many of you know, family reunification streams are also available. This can be sponsorship of a spouse or a parent or grandparent. People can also come on a temporary status, whether that's on an eTA or on a super visa.

With these new measures, these would be additional measures available to Hong Kong residents in order to come to Canada, if they also meet exemptions in the travel restrictions. Of course, anyone coming into Canada at this time would have to abide by public health requirements in terms of quarantine and pre-testing before boarding a plane.

To those who are here and can stay, we've offered a few waivers for them to extend their stay or to restore their status. There are also measures for visitors here to apply for a work permit within Canada.

I believe the second part of the question was about the number of immigrants we are looking forward to over the next three years. The Government of Canada tabled the immigration levels plan last fall. Some 401,000 new permanent residents are targeted for 2021, and it goes up to 411,000 next year. This is something we are working on at IRCC.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Madam Chair, I would like to take the floor.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Yes, please go ahead.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Thank you.

Ms. Kim, I will put two questions to you at the same time to give you time to answer them.

The current immigration system has a number of economic immigration programs to bring immigrants to Canada. The government has studied those programs' objectives in great detail. Can Hong Kong residents access those programs in addition to the special measures? Can it be deduced that the special measures for Hong Kong residents were developed for reasons beyond economic objectives? That is my first question.

Can you also quickly provide the international context as it relates to immigration measures for Hong Kong residents? How do Canada's measure compare to them, and what considerations have been used to standardize the measures, especially between Canada and the United Kingdom?

[Natasha Kim]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

There are a number of questions. I will try to answer them.

First, all the measures I highlighted are available to Hong Kong residents. However, the new measures are intended for young Hong Kong residents.Those two measures are aimed only at them.

As the member said, this measure is....

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Sorry for interrupting, Ms. Kim, but time is up.

[Natasha Kim]

I apologize.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

We will now move on to Madame Normandin.

Madame Normandin, you have five minutes.

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

Thank you very much for answering our questions, Ms. Kim.

I would like to begin by discussing the situation of people who are currently in Hong Kong and who the government would like to come to Canada.

My colleague Ms. Dancho placed a question on the order of paper concerning electronic travel authorizations, or ETAs, for which certain criteria must be met, including the criterion whereby applicants must not have a criminal history. The question was raised because, in certain cases, Hong Kong residents were charged with an offence under the Hong Kong national security law. However, according to what I understand, no directive has been given to officers as far as criminal history goes.

So I would like to know whether, going forward, you plan to potentially ensure that charges laid in Hong Kong would not be a criterion for not authorizing the issuing of an ETA.

[Natasha Kim]

Madam Chair, I will let my colleague, Nicole Giles, answer this question.

[Dr. Nicole Giles, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration]

Thank you for the question.

Canadian immigration officers are trained to consider applications on a case-by-case basis. Generally speaking, for crimes committed outside Canada, an immigration officer must determine whether the same act, if it occurred in Canada, would be considered a crime in Canada. As part of this, we examine what the underlying action was. For example, a person who was arrested or charged for peacefully demonstrating or being at a protest would not be inadmissible, as those actions are not considered crimes in Canada. Similarly, being part of a mass arrest would not automatically lead an immigration officer to approve or refuse an application.

We provide program guidance regularly to our officers all across the globe, including in Hong Kong. That program guidance reflects changes in risk considerations and also provides information on local and regional contexts in certain circumstances. Our officers also receive regular and ongoing training on these and other matters.

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

Thank you very much.

In July 2020, Great Britain announced that it would facilitate access to citizenship for Hong Kong nationals.

Is something similar planned by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada?

[Natasha Kim]

Thank you for the question.

The new measures announced are complementary to the measures introduced by our partners in other countries. Great Britain decided to do something because of its special history with Hong Kong. In Canada, we have created new pathways to facilitate their immigration to Canada and to give them a better future here.

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

I have two questions.

The announced programs mainly target students. What do you intend to do for Hong Kong residents who may be activists who were arrested, but are not part of the student population?

Moreover, there are probably many among the student population who do not speak French or English and who are not eligible for a study or work permit. What do you plan to do for people who are also young and activists, but who do not meet the permit issuance criteria?

[Natasha Kim]

Madam Chair, I would like to say that those new measures are complementary to others that already exist within Canada's immigration system. However, those measures are intended for students and diplomats, such as those who recently completed their post-secondary studies. So there are many young people who are there and will be eligible under those new temporary measures. What is more, once they arrive in Canada to acquire work experience, they can also qualify for other permanent immigration pathways.

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

Do you have an idea of the number of people who could qualify for those programs? Have you conducted a study to determine what percentage of Hong Kong's population that accounts for?

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Sorry for interrupting, Madame Normandin, but your time is up. Maybe the opportunity will come some other time.

Now we will move on to Ms. Kwan.

Ms. Kwan, you have five minutes. The floor is yours.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Ms. Kim.

My first question is this: With respect to the special measures that the government brought in, was there any consideration with respect to the special measures that were utilized during Tiananmen Square back in June 1989?