Citizenship and Immigration Committee on March 8th, 2021

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I call this meeting to order.

Welcome, everyone, to meeting 18 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on the main estimates for 2021-22 and the supplementary estimates for 2020-21.

Given the ongoing pandemic situation and in light of the recommendations from health authorities as well as the directive of the Board of Internal Economy in January 2021, in order to remain healthy and safe, all those attending the meeting in person must maintain a physical distance of at least two metres from others. Please wear a non-medical mask when moving in the meeting room, and preferably wear a mask at all times, including when seated. Maintain proper hand hygiene by using the provided hand sanitizers at the room entrance. Wash hands well with soap regularly.

As the chair, I will be enforcing these measures for the duration of the meeting. I thank all members in advance for their co-operation.

We welcome today the Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. He is joined by officials from the Department of Citizenship and Immigration: Catrina Tapley, deputy minister; Hughes St-Pierre, assistant deputy minister, chief financial officer and comptroller; Marian Campbell Jarvis, assistant deputy minister, strategic and program policy; and Daniel Mills, assistant deputy minister, operations.

With this, we will start our meeting.

Minister Mendicino, please give your opening remarks. You have five minutes.

Thank you, Minister. The floor is yours.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee.

I'd like to acknowledge that I'm joining you from the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin nation.

I'm pleased to join the committee to discuss IRCC's main estimates and our supplementary estimates (C), as well as to provide a brief update of the early and encouraging results we are achieving with regard to our immigration plan for 2021.

First, members will recall that during my last appearance, I indicated that the main estimates for 2021-22 reflected a total funding request of $3.25 billion across all votes, which represented a net increase of approximately $412 million from the 2020-21 main estimates. This funding will be put to good use as we advance our ambitious levels objectives to accelerate our economic recovery, reunite families, stabilize and transform our digital platforms, invest in our borders and adhere to Canada's international obligations when it comes to resettling refugees.

Finally, we are seeking funds to fight fraud, protect those who wish to come here and maintain the integrity of our system by strengthening oversight, enforcement and public education regarding the use of immigration consultants. This will coincide with the opening of the new college of immigration and citizenship consultants, which will be funded entirely through licensing fees.

In addition, I wish to highlight items to be included in IRCC's 2020-21 supplementary estimates (C), which the President of the Treasury Board is expected to table in Parliament. Through these supplementary estimates, the department is seeking total funding of $68.3 million, which will be dedicated to, among other things, supporting the Canada-Quebec accord and the transformation of our global case management system.

Before taking questions, I would like to reflect on the year that was, but more importantly on where we are going. There is no doubt that the pandemic upended global migration. That is true not only in Canada but around the world.

However, I want to assure members of this committee that since day one, IRCC has been rapidly adapting, innovating and evolving to better serve Canadians and those who wish to come here. We've added resources and personnel, opening a new office with 62 new jobs created in Sydney, Nova Scotia, just last week. We're going more digital, transitioning more of our services onto digital programs. We've created groundbreaking new pathways for permanent residency in recognition of the exceptional contributions of those immigrants who are already here and those who look forward to welcoming newcomers in the future.

We are digitizing paper applications and transitioning to a simple and accessible digital application process to better serve Canadians and anyone who hopes to come to Canada.

Modernizing our immigration system means that we will be better equipped to leverage Canada's many competitive advantages, as we will be better adapted to deal with global change and be in the best position to attract world-leading talent. To that end, the funds we are requesting complement my vision of an immigration system that will eventually be completely digital.

Further, IRCC has implemented several initiatives to allow certain categories of applications to be processed virtually. As a result, we've been able to improve processing rates in many categories over the past few months.

As Canadians have adapted to the new reality, so have we. We're beginning to hold asylum interviews remotely. We've welcomed nearly 50,000 new Canadians at virtual citizenship ceremonies, and we recently became the first country in the world to offer citizenship testing online.

Finally, we've helped service providers retool and address newcomer settlement needs, including boosting wages and helping them to deliver more services remotely. Our recent improvements have helped us to better serve those who want to come to Canada, those becoming permanent residents and those who are ready for citizenship.

However, we're just beginning. We will continue to break new ground as we deliver on our immigration levels plan. With travel restrictions due to the pandemic still in place, we're seizing the opportunity to engage the immigrants who are already here, working or studying. Their status may be temporary, but their contributions are indeed lasting. These exceptional measures across all categories—economic, family and protected persons—will offer those already hard at work in Canada the chance to stay permanently.

Madam Chair, the funds we seek will address IRCC's priorities and my mandate commitments from the Prime Minister. They will help to modernize our operations and to continue safe, responsible and compassionate migration. As we emerge from the pandemic, these improvements are helping us to build a stronger immigration system that will support Canada's short-term recovery and long-term prosperity. I hope the committee will support this progress.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would be pleased to answer any questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, Minister. We really appreciate your opening remarks.

Now we will go to our first round of questioning. We will start with Mr. Hallan.

Mr. Hallan, you will have six minutes for your round of questioning. Please proceed.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Of course, on behalf of everyone here, thank you, Minister, for being here. It's always nice to have you here.

There has been a target of 401,000 set for new permanent residents.

We've been hearing heart-wrenching testimony here in our committee, and obviously through all of our offices, about real-life impacts—including people missing their child's first words and their first steps—and just the incredible mental health issues that are caused by the incredible delays in processing times.

We're definitely all happy to hear that 62 more employees were hired in Nova Scotia, but given that not all interviews are being done right now, and that not all services are being offered either, how long will it take to clear up the backlogs in spousal sponsorships so we can reunite families again?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

I want to thank my colleague for the question, and I want to take the opportunity to welcome him to his new role as my critic. I look forward to working with him, as we were doing before he took on this new assignment.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to acknowledge that this has been a very difficult time for families. There is not a single case that doesn't cross my desk or the desk of my department that doesn't really strike at us. We are motivated because of the cases and the stories of families who have been kept apart. That is why we have created pathways to allow loved ones to be reunited. In fact, since we created the travel exemptions for family members, we have processed over 55,000 cases for both immediate and extended family members.

When it came to accelerating our work with regard to spousal sponsorship, as my colleague knows, we made a commitment before the end of last year to process and prioritize approximately 50,000 spousal sponsorship applications. We made good on that promise, Madam Chair. Going forward, by adding additional resources, including the adding of 62 new full-time jobs in Sydney, Nova Scotia, we will continue to accelerate that progress so that we can get back to pre-pandemic service times.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Thank you, Minister.

What about the COPRs after March 18? They're expiring soon. These are approved applications. People just can't travel due to the restrictions, and those documents are going to expire.

Could I have just a quick answer, please?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

As my colleague knows, we have provided updated letters and notifications to those who are abroad and who cannot yet travel. The purpose of providing that notification is to facilitate the planning of their future plans to come back to Canada, but as my colleague also notes, we are not yet out of the pandemic. We do have travel restrictions in place. We look forward to that moment when we can welcome them back.

In the meantime, those health protocols are helping to contain the virus and protecting the health and safety of all Canadians and indeed all who are in Canada.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Thank you, Minister.

There are 27,000 express entry invitations issued. Given the track record from the previous years of 2018 and 2019, pre-pandemic, where targets were not met, and given that there is already an incredible backlog now, how will you meet published service times? Could I have another quick answer, please?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

First, I just want to express how strong our government's record is in meeting our immigration goals. There's no doubt 2020 caused a disruption, but the early results are very encouraging. In January we were 10% more productive in landing permanent residents than we were from a year ago. That was pre-pandemic. As my colleague pointed out, Madam Chair, we delivered the single-largest draw ever from an economic pool of immigrants who were already in Canada. These are individuals who are helping in our response to COVID-19.

This is one of the concrete ways in which we are innovating and it is why I'm confident we are going to hit our immigration goals for 2021.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Minister, this is a great opportunity right now for us all to work together. We can help make this immigration system more smart, fair and compassionate. With regard to interviews, what is the plan to move all of them online or by phone?

Could I put out a suggestion to start recording them? Our offices hear some very inconsistent reports when it comes to what some of our constituents are saying and what the officers' reports are.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

I appreciate that, and as I said to my colleague and to all members of the House, we are always available to work with you so that we can troubleshoot some of the more problematic cases. No question, we are accelerating our transition to digital platforms. That includes the case of permanent residents, but in addition, we're also going more digital with regard to citizenship ceremonies, having welcomed over 50,000 new citizens to our family.

That indeed is the kind of concrete progress that I believe my colleague is encouraging and that we will continue to implement across all of our lines of service for immigration.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

In talking about digitizing and going that route, given the concerns, especially what we were hearing out of China on VFS and the security concerns that were there, I have a straight question.

Have there been any successful cybersecurity breaches impacting either IRCC or CBSA data in the past six months that could be or are currently being investigated by the RCMP or by federal authorities?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

I want to be very clear that the Government of Canada is very aware of the risks of operating in any foreign environment. That is why we have a rigorous procurement process led by PSPC for our visa application centres abroad. Security personnel are vetted prior to being hired by contractors or subcontractors. That is why we ensure that equipment used to upload information related to our visa processes is encrypted and then erased after services are rendered. That is why we regularly carry out audits to ensure compliance.

Taken together, I want to assure my colleague we have put in place the protocols to manage this and to protect all information—

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

With respect, Minister, before my time is up, to be clear, have there been no data breaches, to your knowledge, in the past six months with regard to IRCC or CBSA?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

As I was just about to conclude, we have put in place the protocols. We have implemented audits, and all of our audits have come back and have not revealed any breaches of privacy.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting, but the time is up. Thank you, Minister.

We will now move to Mr. Regan.

You have six minutes for your round of questioning. Please proceed.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Minister, for appearing today.

I'm looking at the spending plans across the main and supplementary estimates. It looks like the government is gearing up for some very substantial changes, not only to how the immigration system is run but also to the policy to direct how it processes files.

We know the pandemic has been a catalyst for quite a few unique approaches to the immigration that our country will experience and also a myriad of upgrades to the department's infrastructure, which appear to be, from what I can tell, custom-designed to make sure our immigration system is as responsive as possible to what are ever-changing global circumstances.

One of the items is $40.2 million for the digital platform modernization project. Could you explain for members of the committee more about this project?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Absolutely.

First of all, I want to thank my colleague for his question and for his advocacy with regard to immigration. I know, like me, he will be very encouraged by the creation of 62 new jobs in Nova Scotia, which will help to accelerate progress. I see he's giving a thumbs-up to that.

With regard to digital transformation, the investments we are making are designed to take what was conventionally paper-based processes and transition them to more digital platforms. By doing so, we will ensure that clients have a better experience and that our outcomes and decisions are taken with greater speed and efficiency, so we can accelerate our economic recovery. As was framed by him in his question, he understands—like I believe all members do—that by reaching our goals in our 2021 immigration plan, we will be bringing the best and the brightest from around the world.

Certainly in the context of a pandemic, we have the opportunity to look at the domestic temporary immigration pool that is already in Canada. By transitioning them from temporary residency to permanent residency status—through the transitioning of our platforms, which are becoming more digital—we will see them achieve better potential and better outcomes by having more career opportunities, earning better wages and giving back. That is the uniquely Canadian quality I have been able to see in my time as the minister. I have seen newcomers who have come to Canada with hopes and dreams and aspirations, who are working very hard, but who are, most importantly, helping us to give back in the midst of the pandemic.

By transitioning to digital platforms, by making these investments in our supplementary estimates (C), we will achieve those outcomes more quickly.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Thank you very much.

We've heard quite a lot about processing times and whether the government's response and adaptations to the immense challenges posed by the pandemic will be enough to address the effects of the pandemic-related processing halts throughout the immigration system.

A particular point we've heard about, including here in my riding of Halifax West, has been the rate at which spousal sponsorship applications are being processed. I know the government has been working hard, and you've been working hard, to optimize this process, most recently with the commitment to make nearly 50,000 decisions by the end of 2020.

Can you provide us with an update on the most recent directive to reunite families?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

With pleasure. Let me begin by saying that our government believes loved ones should be together during the course of the pandemic. We have taken great steps and made great strides to achieving that goal by prioritizing spousal sponsorship applications.

As you pointed out in your question, we made a commitment to prioritize the processing of 50,000 spousal applications by the end of last year. We delivered on that promise.

Going forward, by investing in the additional resources, including the 62 new jobs that we created in Nova Scotia, by taking more of our processes and going online, and by creating policy flexibility that not only allows those who wish to come to Canada and establish themselves here on a permanent basis but also allows them to be with their loved ones during the pandemic, through the corridor of the COVID travel exemptions—where we have processed over 55,000 decisions over the last number of months—we are living up to that value of reuniting families, despite all of the challenges posed by the pandemic.

We have made great progress. We know there is still work to do. There are always cases that we're hearing about, and as is always the case, our heart goes out to them. However, we work with you and with all members to try to resolve them as quickly as we can, and this year will be a banner year for reuniting families.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Thank you, Minister.

You mentioned immigration consultants—I know my time is short, by the way—and you mentioned the college of immigration consultants in particular. The bill that was passed to create this regulatory body is an important initiative. Can you give me an update on where that is in terms of proclamation?

Also, I see that there's $8.9 million in the main estimates for protecting people from unscrupulous and fraudulent immigration consultants. How will that be used?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

We will use those funds to implement new systems, including the creation of a college, to set a high standard of professional conduct for immigration consultants who are there to provide support to newcomers who wish to navigate our immigration pathways.

The pandemic has taught us that vulnerable populations, including newcomers, who must overcome systemic barriers when it comes to language, finding a job and getting an education and schooling for their children or for themselves as they retool, are critically important. By creating this college and by—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting, Minister, but your time is up. We will have to move on to Madame Normandin.

Madame Normandin, you can proceed, please. You have six minutes for your round of questioning.

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

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Minister, thank you for joining us today. Your presence is always appreciated.

I will put my questions to you by category.

I would like to begin with Quebec's skilled workers. For 2020, the threshold for skilled worker admissions in Quebec was 22,000, and according to the data provided on the open.canada.ca website, 11,480 applications have been processed and approved.

Did the minister prioritize the applications of people who were already in Canada?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Thank you for your question.

I want to begin by saying that we are working collaboratively with the Government of Quebec. As you know, Ms. Normandin, the Government of Quebec chooses its economic immigration level every year.

At the same time, we are opening new avenues for foreign workers in order to support Quebec's economy. We will continue to collaborate with the Government of Quebec to welcome immigrants and strengthen Quebec's economy.