Citizenship and Immigration Committee on May 12th, 2021

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Okay. You could pass along our suggestion here from the committee that it would be great that they consider that as well—you know, if the uptake isn't there over time.

Madam Chair, those are all the questions I have, and I see that my time is pretty much up.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, Mr. Allison.

Mr. Schiefke, you have five minutes.

[Peter Schiefke, Liberal, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I would like to thank the witnesses for being with us this afternoon.

The programs announced for francophones outside of Quebec were well received by the representatives of minority francophone groups outside of Quebec.

Do you work with francophone organizations outside of Quebec to ensure that potential candidates are made aware of the initiative and to help meet the target of increasing francophone immigration in minority populations?

[Marian Campbell Jarvis]

Certainly, there is a communications effort under way. We are really pleased with the francophone stream offering, and we are really hoping for a strong response to bolster language minority communities outside of Quebec. We will be watching with great interest. We've seen a fair amount of Twitter chatter and other communications and social media about the francophone stream. As that word continues to reverberate, we look forward to a strong uptake.

[Peter Schiefke, Liberal, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

The next question I have is with regard to international students. Could you perhaps speak about what kind of an impact this is going to have on communities, on businesses, which are going to have more stability, which are now going to know that these dynamic young newcomers they've hired are actually going to be able to stay and work at these companies and so forth?

Can you speak a little bit about the impact that the stream for international students is going to have on small businesses, communities and Canada in general?

[Marian Campbell Jarvis]

The international graduate stream, I think, will have a number of ripple effects that we're expecting. One is likely the recognition by other international students around the world as to the desirability of Canada and the pathway in Canada. Certainly, prior to this temporary pathway, we saw a number of international students graduate into the post-graduate work permit, and then choose to stay and live in Canada.

We know that international students are well positioned with strong human capital from official language levels, an education in Canada and Canadian work experience. We see the vitality and the vibrancy across the disciplines, whether it's from some of the scientific...spurring on innovation. In communities, we hear from universities and colleges about the super-clustering that happens from college to university to local labour markets. I think this will be a glimmer and a bolster of that confidence in the economy of Canada as it seeks to recover from the pandemic. At least that's the intent.

[Peter Schiefke, Liberal, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Thank you very much.

Now it's a pleasure for me actually to turn it over to Mr. Manly and provide him with one last question before I think it's time for us to end the session.

[Paul Manly, Green, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Schiefke.

Madam Chair, I hear from a lot of people who are applying for refugee status in Canada that the process is slow. Their relatives are trying to help them get here. I know this is a program for inside Canada, but I'm just wondering if this process is slowing down the application process for people who need to come here as refugees and for people who are applying to come to Canada as refugees if they have these skills. Is there a pathway for them to expedite the process for the skilled workers who need to get out of the situations they're in, in other parts of the world?

[Marian Campbell Jarvis]

Madam Chair, I'm pleased to report that the minister has certainly underlined the importance of Canada upholding its international obligations. Over the course of the pandemic, Canada has in fact settled a number of urgent protection cases. We continue to have referrals from the UNHCR and government-assisted refugees, as well as privately sponsored refugees, as border restrictions have allowed.

We have actually welcomed a small number, but refugees have—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting, but time is up.

We will now proceed to Madam Normandin for two and a half minutes.

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

Madam Chair, unsurprisingly, I am giving my time to Mr. Manly. He will be able to ask his questions.

[Paul Manly, Green, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

I've actually run out of questions. Thank you all.

I'll pass the baton.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Madam Normandin, do you want to take your time? Do you have any questions?

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

Madam Chair, if that is the case, I will ask a few questions.

I am curious given that the program does not apply to persons who are in Quebec, and that applicants have to undertake to settle outside of Quebec.

What will happen if applicants don't keep their promise?

[Marian Campbell Jarvis]

Thank you for the question.

Certainly, there is a Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Canada. We have a mobility clause, and people are free to move around in Canada. The emphasis and expectation set out in the application is that people intend to reside outside Quebec.

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

If the conditions required for permanent residency included an undertaking to settle outside of Quebec and that promise was not kept, could permanent residency be revoked?

[Marian Campbell Jarvis]

I think the expectation has been set, and that's the expectation and part of the application process that will be assessed.

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

Madam Chair, if I still have a bit more time, I would like to know if there is a set period of time that those people...

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Your time is up.

Ms. Kwan, you will have two and a half minutes for your questioning.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I'd like to touch on the 90,000 figure, which is tied to the number targets. The application process is such that it's based on intake versus accepted applications. Why is that? Assuming the government wants to achieve the 90,000 figure, what if many people have applied and they don't qualify. Why not take accepted application numbers instead of the intake number?

[Marian Campbell Jarvis]

That's an excellent question. I think my colleague, Daniel Mills, may wish to comment on this as well. I'll make a couple of remarks at the outset.

The program was designed for intake, and that's because of the careful balance that needs to be set in the operational strategy across the department. If it were set at approved or accepted applications, that would require us to process all of those applications before we could determine the number.

Mr. Mills might wish to comment more carefully on the processing strategy.

[Daniel Mills]

I thank my colleague.

I will add that each application will be evaluated individually. An application can also include other persons. One single application can allow two or three people to ultimately come to Canada. We can therefore hit the target of 90,000. It does not necessarily depend on the number of applications, but the number of people involved.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I see. So the announcement is actually not really accurate because it makes people think it's 90,000 applications, and you're actually talking about 90,000 individuals. There's a discrepancy there with respect to that.

I want to go back to the language question. What about people who can't get their language test done? Maybe that's why your numbers are low. What's the government doing about that?

[Marian Campbell Jarvis]

We know that there is a capacity challenge there. The language testing is really important. We know that the research and the data show that people settle more strongly—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting.

Ms. Kwan, your time is up.