Evidence of meeting #5 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was minutes.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Denise Amyot  President and Chief Executive Officer, Colleges and Institutes Canada
Debbie Douglas  Executive Director, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants
Clerk of the Committee  Mr. Leif-Erik Aune
Paul Davidson  President and Chief Executive Officer, Universities Canada
Wendy Therrien  Director, External Relations and Research, Universities Canada
Emmanuelle Bergeron  As an Individual
Jatin Shory  Lawyer, Shory Law, As an Individual
Robert Falconer  Research Associate, Immigration and Refugee Policy, School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, Alliance Canada Hong Kong
Starus Chan  Alliance Canada Hong Kong

5:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid

Sorry for interrupting. The time is up.

Now we will move to our last round of questioning.

Ms. Douglas, were you saying something?

5:10 p.m.

Executive Director, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Debbie Douglas

I was about to leave.

5:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid

Can you stay for two more minutes?

5:10 p.m.

Executive Director, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Debbie Douglas

Sure, that will be great.

5:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid

Ms. Kwan, you have two minutes.

5:10 p.m.

NDP

Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC

Ms. Douglas, I'll quickly ask you this question.

With respect to refugees, right now we have the border restrictions, so many of the refugees are not able to enter into Canada. Do you think that Canada should lift...or provide exemptions to refugees, and then also apply the health measures in terms of quarantine and what have you, to ensure that Canadians are safe?

5:10 p.m.

Executive Director, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Debbie Douglas

Absolutely. We've said to the minister that folks who are in search of safe haven or seeking asylum need asylum, regardless of the pandemic. We're asking the government to allow folks to come in, especially those who are government-sponsored.

We've seen that the few who have trickled in over the last eight months have been able to quarantine safely in hotel spaces or refugee houses where there's space. The folks who are providing the services are very mindful in terms of our health protocols.

I think that we have to open our borders to government-assisted refugees as well as privately sponsored refugees. COVID cannot be an excuse for closing our borders to asylum seekers.

5:10 p.m.

NDP

Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC

I'm going to quickly turn to Mr. Davidson.

On the post-secondary education side and the international students, many of the postgrad students who are already here are having a tough time because of the time-restricted postgrad work permit, which requires them to complete 12 to 24 months of high-wage or high-skilled work. Because of the pandemic, that work has been clearly impacted. Some of them are going to run out of time and their work permit is going to expire.

Do you think the government should automatically renew their work permit so they can have the extra time to complete their work requirements?

5:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid

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

5:10 p.m.

NDP

Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC

Can I just get a quick yes or no?

5:10 p.m.

President and Chief Executive Officer, Universities Canada

5:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid

Sorry about that.

With this, our first panel comes to an end.

Thank you to all the witnesses, and a special thanks to Ms. Douglas. I know you had to leave, but we really appreciate your staying longer with us.

You can stay with us, but if any people on the first panel have to leave, they can leave also.

Now we will move to our second panel.

5:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid

We will resume. I call the meeting to order.

Now we will start with our second panel. Thanks to all the witnesses for appearing before us today as we do the important work on the study of the impact of COVID-19 on the immigration system.

We will start with our first witness, Madame Bergeron.

Madame Bergeron, you have five minutes for your opening remarks.

5:15 p.m.

Emmanuelle Bergeron As an Individual

My story is one that thousands of Canadians share. My name is Emmanuelle Bergeron, and I never expected to fall in love with a man who lived in another country. On July 7, 2017, I met Ernesto Davalos Urbizo. From that point on, I flew to see him as much as I could as our relationship grew. The periods of separation have always been filled with emotional conversations online.

In February 2018, I was thrilled to be able to tell him that he was going to be a father. Being in my early 40s, I no longer thought that dream possible. We were excited about our plans for the future and we met with a lawyer to apply for a temporary visa. We were applying so that my partner could be here for the birth of our son. I was planning to go back to Cuba when the baby was two months old for my maternity leave. That would give us time to work on the application for permanent residence through sponsorship. We submitted all of the necessary proof and documentation, but in 2018, we were shocked to learn that the application had been refused under subsection 179(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

On July 11, 2018, in front of family and friends in Varadero, I promised not just to cherish Ernesto, but also to do everything in my power to reunite our whole family under one roof. A few days later, we found out that another application had been refused, this one for a visitor visa so that Ernesto could be with me for the birth of our son. I was six months' pregnant and a soon-to-be mother—my heart was broken. I could no longer hold back tears at the airport, where I once again had to say goodbye to my husband. It is thanks to the support of family and friends that I was able to return to Canada without him. The government refused his basic right to be present for the birth of his son on the pretext that he had family ties here, in Canada, and had not convinced the immigration officer that he would return to his country.

On July 30, 2018, I filled out and submitted the application and paid the required fees. My son Lucas was born on October 1, 2018, and his father, Ernesto, learned that he had become a father a few minutes later by video conference. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, opened our sponsorship application on November 28, 2018. The interminable wait had begun. During the long months of not hearing from the department other than to receive requests for updated documents and forms, my son and I travelled to see his father. Ernesto held his son in his arms for the first time when Lucas was two years old.

On July 28, 2019, a year after submitting the application, we received a request to complete a medical exam and permission to apply for a Quebec selection certificate. Applicants are supposed to receive an answer within 25 business days, but I did not receive it until December 4, 2019, five months later. That was yet another document that delayed the processing of our application.

As time went on, visits grew further apart and finances became strained. After 18 months of waiting, we received a letter from IRCC asking us to prove that our love was a genuine, bona fide and public relationship. A month later, on February 8, 2020, we received a letter welcoming my husband to Canada. We cried tears of joy. We were happy and we thought it was over, but alas, it was not. On March 19, 2020, we received another letter notifying us that the medical exam results had been lost. I was angry. My spouse had taken the medical exam in Trinidad and Tobago on August 26, 2019.

Since Cuba no longer had a panel physician following service cuts at the Canadian embassy in Havana, I had to pay for the trip, something I had not budgeted for. It cost me about $4,000. Since then, I have submitted the supporting document provided by the clinic three times, but it doesn't show up in my IRCC account. After calling the clinic where the exam was conducted, I was told by the secretary that the results did indeed appear in IRCC's online system. She sent everything by fax and email to Mexico City. What happened to the results? We will never know because IRCC never responds to our inquiries.

COVID-19 blindsided the entire planet, causing countries to close their borders. Frankly, I am worn out. I don't think I can make it through another goodbye at the airport. In the past two years, Ernesto was able to cuddle, rock and hold his son for all of 15 weeks. We have been waiting for 27 months. We have submitted all of the required documents, we have met the Quebec selection certificate criteria and we have paid all the fees.

The last time Ernesto held his son in his arms was January 5, 2020, more than 315 days ago. I am worn out and on the brink of depression. I cry every time my two-year-old son brings me the telephone saying “daddy, daddy” because he wants to see his father. I cry every morning because my husband is so far away. I feel like the government has robbed me of the most precious moments of my life, moments I will never get back. I have moved past anger. I want to cry foul when I see the government issue visas to people who submitted their applications after I did and who do not have children. How a country built on family values can turn its back on us like this is beyond me.

Today, I am speaking on behalf of all the women who have and who will give birth to their child without their spouse by their side.

Would Mr. Mendicino or Mr. Trudeau stand for being separated from their wives at a time as important as the birth of their child?

On what basis can an immigration officer decide to deny a father his fundamental right to see the birth of his child?

Thousands of Canadian families are living with the lack of transparency, the inconsistency and the unfairness caused by the discretionary power of officers. As a result, we remain uncertain about the future of our family.

5:20 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid

I'm sorry for interrupting, Madame Bergeron. The time is up. You will get an opportunity in the rounds of questioning to speak further on the issue.

Now we will move on to Mr. Jatin Shory.

Mr. Shory, you have five minutes for your opening remarks.

5:20 p.m.

Jatin Shory Lawyer, Shory Law, As an Individual

Madam Chair and honourable committee members, thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration this afternoon.

My name is Jatin Shory, and I am an immigration and refugee lawyer working at Shory Law in Calgary, Alberta.

It is my understanding that the committee is currently studying the impact of COVID-19 on Canada's immigration system. I believe this inquiry is an important step in the right direction, and I suspect that the committee members have received a variety of perspectives and suggestions over the course of this exercise.

It was only seven months ago when the Canadian government began to announce significant steps to contain and manage, in a predictable timeline, the global COVID-19 pandemic. In my world, that of immigration, it began with significant border closures and restrictions on travel, resulting in thousands of families becoming separated. Internally, application processing was halted, and hearings at various courts and tribunals paused.

The world of immigration law subsequently became a process of staying up to date with further directions from the government, policy announcements and interpreting orders in council being issued, at times on a weekly basis.

Around that time, I had just won a matter at the immigration appeal division by consent from the minister's council. My client had sponsored his wife, and this application had been refused. He was a father of three, and his family application had been refused in an interview of his wife that he did not even get the chance to participate in.

After this win, of course, my client was ecstatic. His wife's file, however, was being managed at the High Commission of Canada office out of London. Then COVID hit, and his file remains at a standstill today. My client had three children with his wife, and yet the genuineness of his marriage was still being questioned. He has now been waiting for almost three years for his family to reunite in Canada.

Most of the phone calls or advice I gave for the first few months following the lockdowns were largely around how to bring back a spouse, how to reunite with a partner and why they're not letting family work when they have all the documentation the government says they need.

It became clear that family reunification, which is among the objectives of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, would need to become a priority. This left a lasting impression on me as a professional, and I continue to observe what solutions the government is presenting for the future of immigration in Canada.

Family reunification is at the forefront for many Canadians and permanent residents. There have been homegrown movements by Canadians and permanent residents demanding more transparency on why their application to reunite with their loved ones has been halted, and this was covered extensively by the media and continues to be today as well.

The government responded by confirming the allocation of more resources to the processing of overseas applications. I applaud these efforts. Many of my clients who were in the final stages of their processing are now beginning to receive their passport requests. However, what will happen to the thousands of families who have been picked for interviews that, in reality, have no specified timeline to resume?

One of my clients came out of a very abusive relationship. She had a child out of this relationship. Culturally, she struggled with getting independence and confidence to move forward in her life in these conditions. She found a life partner and overcame the adversity faced by women in her circumstances. We were told that interviews were going to be set for the summer of 2020. Obviously that did not happen, and my client remains lost as to when she can begin the next chapter of her life.

In a time when Canada is beginning to evaluate a more efficient system of processing applications that maintains integrity, I believe it is imperative that IRCC also take this as an opportunity to go back to the drawing board on how overseas applications are being processed and selected for interviews. It is imperative that IRCC take this opportunity to consider the following reforms.

One is speeding up the interview and application process, and two is introducing new forms of training for immigration officers to make them more attuned to the parties' physical and mental conditions as well as their social and cultural backgrounds.

The backlog of file processing would definitely result in families being separated for unjustifiable periods because of the current system. The movement towards electronic solutions is apparently required in 2020; however, some of the family reunification pathways available today continue with the status quo from previous years: the paper filing of humanitarian and compassionate applications, other sponsorship applications and even temporary resident permits, and the need for wet signatures.

The use of technology can be further instilled in the interview process. Virtual interviews are a solution to an anticipated backlog of processing. It is a process that has been smoothly incorporated at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. If we can introduce artificial intelligence at various visa processing centres overseas, why can we not bring forward a solution like this as well?

Canada is a leader when it comes to global immigration. We need to continue to demonstrate that through this pandemic.

Thank you again, and I invite questions.

5:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid

Thank you, Mr. Shory, for your opening remarks.

Now we will move on to Mr. Falconer, representing Alliance Canada Hong Kong.

Mr. Falconer, you have five minutes for your opening remarks. I assume you are sharing your time with Ms. Chan.

5:25 p.m.

Robert Falconer Research Associate, Immigration and Refugee Policy, School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, Alliance Canada Hong Kong

Thank you to the committee for inviting me. It's an honour and a pleasure to present with Starus and Alliance Canada Hong Kong.

The topic of today actually goes along with Mr. Shory, about the idea of timeliness and flexibility when it comes to the processing of applications for refugee claimants, immigrants and others. While we do come here as a group that's focused on Hong Kongers, the recommendations we make would be very similar, and would broadly impact the larger immigrant and refugee community.

Historically, our [Technical difficulty—Editor] has not been very flexible. Since 2000, we've had three periods where large numbers of claims were made in Canada, and each time it has taken several years for the Immigration and Refugee Board to catch up and process those claims. This is, by the way, the same with the most recent rise in refugee numbers since about 2016, and still our system continues to try to catch up.

With the advent of COVID-19, the faults in the processing pipeline, as it were, continue to have real human impacts. I was looking at some data today, and it was quite apparent that since March 2020, about 44% of all refugee claims have been referred to the IRB for a hearing date. That's in comparison to [Technical difficulty—Editor] per cent in the same period last year. While we can certainly understand why the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic would exacerbate the ability to process and refer refugee claims, we have to understand there are human lives in the mix here. They are unable to access work permits, attain status in Canada and access social services. They are all impacted by those wait times.

Likewise, it prevents [Technical difficulty—Editor] especially the provinces, which, rightfully so, have to [Technical difficulty—Editor] lives of refugee claimants while their claims are being processed.

In addition to this, international students have found it very difficult to make the transition from graduation into the Canadian economic immigration system. Graduates of an education program will find that [Technical difficulty—Editor] study in Canada to excel academically and to find work afterwards, through no fault of their own but only because of the economic circumstances that surround them, they will be unable to gain the points necessary to qualify for the economic immigration system.

With that, we would like to make several recommendations.

The first would be that Canada develop a five-year post-graduate work permit, similar to the Australian model that was adopted for Hong Kongers. This would allow international students in Canada, who have graduated from our system, more time to gain work experience in Canada.

The second, for those who are fleeing or who are here from countries with oppressive regimes, as in the situation in Hong Kong right now, is to provide them more safety in Canada, and if need be, access to the refugee claim system.

Finally, it would be the transition to an interim visa program. Right now, refugee claimants, students or workers who are transitioning out of one permit to another whose permit expires in the meantime...on an implied status that is [Technical difficulty—Editor] many employers [Technical difficulty—Editor] students and workers themselves. The new [Technical difficulty—Editor] offers an interim visa program that, immediately upon applying for an extension or a change of status in the visa, issues them an interim visa that would last until the government gets back to them with their new work, study or visitor permit.

In addition, [Technical difficulty—Editor] into our immigration and refugee system would pay dividends both in humanitarian [Technical difficulty—Editor] as well as to the management of our immigration and refugee system.

The [Technical difficulty—Editor] aspect will be presented by my associate, Starus. The delays in the processing of work permits, study permits, and refugee claim referrals have a real impact, causing stress, financial difficulties, and inability to access social services.

I'll pass the time over to Starus.

5:30 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid

You have 45 seconds.

November 16th, 2020 / 5:30 p.m.

Starus Chan Alliance Canada Hong Kong

Thank you for letting me speak here today.

I'm an international student from Hong Kong, and also a student activist for the democratic movement. I'm here to speak about my experience.

We all know that Hong Kong is not safe for student activists anymore. However, here in Canada, Tibetans, Uighurs and Hong Kong student activists are being intimidated and harassed by pro-[Technical difficulty—Editor] supporters. We worry that our activities are being documented, and that this may lead to potential prosecution for us and our families.

We sincerely hope that the government will implement immigration and asylum measures as soon as possible. It's stressful for international students and their families to tackle COVID-19, Canada's immigration system, and also worry about their safety at the same time.

I wanted to go back—

5:30 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid

Ms. Chan, sorry for interrupting, but your time is up. During the round of questioning you will get an opportunity to speak about the issues you want to raise.

With that, I thank all the witnesses for their opening testimony. We will now move on to our first round of questioning, starting with Ms. Dancho.

Ms. Dancho, you have six minutes.

5:30 p.m.

Conservative

Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses. It's great to see these expert opinions on the witness stand today. We greatly appreciate your time.

Ms. Chan, I'd like you to elaborate a little on what you were just touching on when your time ran out. Specifically, has the government really made any promises or had any communications with you regarding when or if they're going to bring forward a more robust asylum and refugee program in response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Hong Kong?

Mr. Falconer, you can chime in on this as well.

5:35 p.m.

Alliance Canada Hong Kong

Starus Chan

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I think the new policy for the Hong Kongers, a more efficient policy, personally would help me to obtain a PR here. However, the policy is also unclear, as many Hong Kongers have been inquiring about the measure. I urge the government to clarify the details of it.

5:35 p.m.

Conservative

Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB

Mr. Falconer, do you have anything to add to that? Are you aware of anything upcoming or have they communicated with you anything about a possible refugee or asylum system for Hong Kongers that wasn't announced last week?

5:35 p.m.

Research Associate, Immigration and Refugee Policy, School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, Alliance Canada Hong Kong

Robert Falconer

Not as of yet.

So far, they're...early in the coming year. I agree with Ms. Chan that, especially with regard to this situation, clear communication needs to be had with regard to who is eligible and when this program will roll out.