Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Feb. 1st, 2021

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Okay.

One issue in family reunification is the limited definition of who can apply for sponsorship. It is for spouses and dependent children, and then to a much lesser and limited degree, based on a lottery, for parents and grandparents.

Do you think the Canadian government should expand our family reunification initiative so that extended family members, for example, could get sponsorship from their loved ones here in Canada?

[Cherie Wong]

I do absolutely, and I think there should be an expedited process, waiving the lottery and points system, to enable loved ones to reach Canada immediately. We know that many of those Canadians who are in Hong Kong are hesitant to leave because they don't want to leave their family members behind. An expedited and a shorter process will definitely be very helpful.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting, Ms. Kwan. Your time is up.

We will now move to our second round of questioning.

Ms. Dancho, you have five minutes for your round of questioning. Please begin.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I really appreciated that last round of questions. I thought there were some excellent responses, particularly to my colleague Madam Normandin. I think her question was a very good one: If Canada were stronger, should we be fearing for the safety of Hong Kong Canadians and the like? I think that's a very good question.

The Conservative Party here has always, for the last number of months—and this has been escalating—said that we need to be stronger, that we need to stand up very firmly, with our allies, to the bully that is China. We have been disappointed with the Liberal government's response to date and continue to push for this.

For those in Canada who may be watching or who may hear Conservatives talking a lot about Hong Kong or China but who don't have any attachment to Hong Kong, I'd love it if each of you could just respond to the two following questions, just to give people who don't know what's going on a bit of a perspective.

Why should Canadians who don't have these connections care about what's happening to Hong Kong? I know that's a very obvious question, but if you could just give me your frank response, that would be great.

On the second part, to Ms. Normandin's question, why should Canada stick its neck out a little bit to help Hong Kong? I think you answered this quite well last time, but if you could just further reiterate your thoughts I would really appreciate the perspective from each of you.

Perhaps we could start with Ms. Wong.

[Cherie Wong]

Yes, absolutely. Hong Kong and Canada have always had a very close relationship. Canada is one of the few nations that defended Hong Kong against the Japanese invasion, so there is a very long history there.

As well, Canada is one of the signatories to the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the international agreement that has outlined the one-country, two-systems Hong Kong autonomy, and so on. Therefore, I think Canada has a responsibility beyond the people but to this agreement. We witnessed this agreement between the U.K. and the Chinese government that Hong Kong will remain autonomous for 50 years.

That has very quickly been breached. For Canadians at home, I know all of us hold democracy and human rights as core values with being Canadian, so it's not a huge reach to ask Canadians to support Hong Kongers who are facing immense political and state violence.

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

That was well said. Thank you.

Mr. Tse or Mr. Wong, who would like to go first? We have a few minutes left.

[Brian Wong]

Hong Kong is an international city. These days, we are in a global age and every country affects the other. We need to support Hong Kong because Hong Kongers hold democratic values as we do. If we let the totalitarian governments influence the world more, the democratic countries will be weaker. Therefore, we need to help Hong Kongers to come.

Second, we have 300,000 Canadians living in Hong Kong. We should care, shouldn't we?

I'll just leave those points to Reverend Tse.

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

That was well said, sir.

Mr. Tse.

[Rev. Dominic Tse]

Thank you. I would like to address that.

Hong Kong is unique. It is the modern-day Berlin. It's the front between liberal democratic values versus the totalitarian regime, the China system, the China way. There's a clash of civilizations between the totalitarian way and the liberal democracy that Canada holds dear, and this is the battleground.

We are Berliners, JFK said, and I'm saying, “We are Hong Kongers.” It's not that we have a connection to Hong Kong but we cherish the same values. We cannot let Hong Kong fall. We cannot let them down. I'm speaking as a Canadian. I think we should do so.

Another question is this: Is it worth it? Who are these people?

There is something bigger at play. If Hong Kong falls, there's a domino effect and we might not have the same Canada. We are a small country. If the bully keeps bullying others, we might not have the same Canada that we have right now. This is a battlefront; we are Berliners.

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

I appreciate your responses very much and I took them to heart.

I, 100%, cannot agree more. There are 300,000 Canadians there and we need to care about this.

I really appreciate your earlier comments and the former questions about standing firm to a bully or else that bully will keep advancing. The point is very well made to say that if Hong Kong falls, there will be someone next and that this totalitarian regime will continue to encroach on the democratic freedoms of other countries.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting. Your time is up.

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

Thank you for your responses. I very much appreciate it.

Thank you, Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

We will now move on to Ms. Dhillon.

Ms. Dhillon, you have five minutes for your round of questioning. You can please proceed.

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to all the witnesses for being here today.

I'm going to ask the question of any of the witnesses who want to answer.

As we all know, COVID-19 has impacted the level of difficulty that the department encounters when dealing with immigration cases. Although the state of operations at IRCC has changed drastically since the beginning of the pandemic, shifts to remote work coupled with system modernization have increased departmental capacity from 38% to 90%. This heightened capacity will allow the government to address the processing of new streams adequately.

Can you please tell us if there is a widespread fear amongst would-be applicants in Hong Kong that IRCC will have trouble processing other claims? If so, how do you think we should address this?

[Cherie Wong]

I think many Hong Kongers are familiar with long-winded bureaucratic processes. However, when it comes to the issue of immigration and asylum and leaving a place of violence, that urgency is a lot more clear. We recommend that the IRCC maintain a higher level of staff, even during low periods, to compensate for the potential influx of individuals and applicants after COVID restrictions have been lifted.

[Brian Wong]

As we know, the infection rate of COVID in Hong Kong or in Taiwan is comparatively much lower than it is in Canada. I think we still need to have a safe border. When people come in, just separate them to live in their own house or in a hotel for 21 days, or even do a test when they arrive in Canada. I don't think that this cannot be done. This is for safety, the humanitarian way of understanding.

[Rev. Dominic Tse]

I would like to address that. Given the reduced staff and the reorganization of work, I think of the capacity of the department to process a large number of applicants overseas. I mean, it's not going to be great, so instead of having them wait in line overseas, we can bring them in on some temporary measure and process them here in the safety of Canada. This is what I am proposing.

The same process happens, but Hong Kong people can come in, post-COVID, on a tourist visa or a work permit or something. They can come in and be processed here rather than waiting in line outside of the country, because that door may be closed while they wait. Then they cannot come anymore, so I think time is of the essence.

I just want to emphasize that though we are short-staffed, we are in a competition, racing against time and against the regime, but also racing against other competitors. The other Five Eyes nations want to get the best of the immigrants. I think Canada can do better and streamline the process. Bring them in first and process them later. I think that would help us sort out the bureaucratic problem.

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Thank you. These are very good suggestions.

My next question is also for all of you because you all have amazing input and different perspectives, but are still able to paint a global picture. The Hong Kong measures have been crafted to allow students and recent graduates to arrive in Canada, as they are well-suited to integrating into Canada.

Can you please inform members of the committee of the demographic characteristics of the residents of Hong Kong from an immigration perspective, and how well suited they may be as candidates for residency in Canada?

Third, have you received feedback from residents of Hong Kong about the networks of immigration measures that are available to Hong Kongers?

Thank you so much. If you need me to repeat the question, I can.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

You just have 10 seconds.

[Brian Wong]

I would say that we will try our best to raise support for the people who come from the churches or other social—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Sorry for interrupting, Reverend Wong. The time is up.

We will now have to move on to Madam Normandin.

Madam Normandin, you have two and a half minutes for your round of questioning. Please proceed.

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

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I'd like to continue along the same lines as my colleague Ms. Dancho, who addressed the same issues as me.

Canada needs to stand up a little more to China. This could even indirectly benefit other populations in China who are currently facing persecution. I'm thinking of the Uighur community, for example.

Would this send a message that would be useful not only to the people of Hong Kong, but also to other people in China?

[Cherie Wong]

My other written submission is an earlier version of our policy recommendation submitted to IRCC in June. It includes listing all applicants from Hong Kong and China and the surrounding regions to less complex claims, so that asylum seekers and those who are fleeing state persecution can basically navigate the asylum processes a little quicker and have an expedited process.

[Rev. Dominic Tse]

Madam Normandin, I fully support Canada taking a strong stance, because there are countless people in China, especially in Xinjiang province, the Uighurs and others, even Christians.... I have a friend in China, a fellow pastor, in prison right now. I don't know him personally, but there are pastors in prison. They need to hear a clear, moral voice from a country such as Canada, a small country that is willing to stand up to the bully and say, “This is not right”. We're doing it. It's at some cost, but we can bear it. Canada has always been a small country with a strong voice. I think we ought to do it again.

Thank you.

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

Thank you.

Reverend Wong, would you like to add anything? I see he can't hear me. I'll ask a quick question then.

I was talking about study permits that are difficult to get because of a lack of guidelines. Should there be the same clear guidelines for issuing electronic travel authorizations, despite the criminal record of some Hong Kong nationals?