Evidence of meeting #9 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 application.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Bloc
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
I have a point of order.
There was no interpretation at the end of Ms. Guthrie's presentation.
Bloc
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
It was just near the end.
Could we work on that during the presentations of the other witnesses? I wouldn't want to waste any time.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid
Yes, the clerk is looking into it. Before we start, we will make sure it is in order.
The interpreters were not able to interpret because of the low quality of the voice coming in. Maybe we can give one more minute to Madam Guthrie to just repeat her last minute.
Madam Guthrie, would you please bring the microphone nearer your mouth so that the interpreters can hear you clearly?
You will have one minute to repeat what you said in the last one minute.
Lawyer, Immigration, Don Valley Community Legal Services
My apologies. I will try to speak slowly and as clearly as I can.
As I said before, we would like IRCC to adopt a more flexible approach when it comes to biometrics and concurrent processing of other aspects of the application with regard to temporary foreign workers, particularly caregivers. We have a lot of interim caregivers and pilot project caregivers who have applied for permanent residence but have not been able to receive work permits. Under the previous live-in caregiver program, once an applicant had submitted an application, they were issued a work permit. Our clients are stuck in limbo. A lot of them do not have work permits and cannot move to new employers because they've been impacted by COVID.
It would be helpful if IRCC—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid
I'm sorry for interrupting. Your time is up.
Now we will move to Mr. Robert Haché, president and vice-chancellor of Laurentian University.
You have five minutes for your opening remarks.
Robert Haché President and Vice-Chancellor, Laurentian University
Thank you.
My name is Robert Haché and I am pleased to speak to you today from Laurentian University in Sudbury, in northeastern Ontario, located on the 1850 Robinson-Huron Treaty territory and on the traditional lands of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek and Wahnapitae first nations.
First, thank you for the invitation. I also thank you for leading this study and for the critical work that parliamentarians are doing in this extraordinary time.
Laurentian University is a microcosm of Canada. We are northern, we are bilingual, we are committed to reconciliation and we are focused on internationalization.
The City of Greater Sudbury is a regional hub for post-secondary education and learning in northeastern Ontario with Laurentian University, Cambrian College and le Collège Boréal.
Approximately 6% of our students at Laurentian are international. They from over 60 countries, with our most significant populations being from China, India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran and Côte d'Ivoire.
More specifically, in recent decades, Sudbury has become a centre for francophone African immigrants in the north, particularly those from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Ivory Coast. Many of these newcomers also have ties to Laurentian University, where they study, teach and work.
In May 2019, as part of the Action Plan for Official Languages 2018-2023, the federal government announced that Sudbury was one of the 14 welcoming francophone communities in the country. Pursuant to the plan, the Sudbury region focuses on supporting the vitality of the official language minority communities and increasing the proportion of francophone permanent residents in Canada outside Quebec.
We have been very fortunate to work with many of our embassies, particularly in Africa, and we are very grateful for the regional knowledge that these embassies or visa application centres have. Due to a central shift in visa processing for a number of African countries, however, international students have experienced challenges in realizing their desire to study in northern Ontario and to have their immigration applications accepted in a timely fashion.
Laurentian University has found that applicants from many African countries that have applications processed in Dakar, for example, have a higher refusal rate due to aspects of their applications that would be better understood by VACs in their respective countries that have the regional knowledge to assess their applications. The same has been experienced for Algerian applications being processed in Paris.
I strongly believe universities can be essential partners to the IRCC to help increase mutual understanding of, on our end, academic applications, our acceptance practices and rigorous credential evaluation, and on your end, immigration application standards and what immigration officers look for when assessing the applicant's academic path.
One recommendation to assist immigration officers would be to require study permit applicants to include their letter of motivation to study at our university with their study permit application. This would help immigration officers to better understand the academic journey that the student is proposing.
Many international students, and in particular francophone African students, feel at home in Sudbury and in Ontario's north. They will play a critical role in the economic recovery of our region. Working together, universities can help the federal government to leverage an expedited return of international students in a safe manner to help drive economic recovery.
Sudbury must remain a destination of choice for these students, who represent a pool of bright, engaged and committed talent that will transform our communities in positive ways.
Thank you again to all members of the committee for your work during the COVID-19 pandemic. With your support, we are committed to building stronger communities and a stronger Canada.
Thank you again for the opportunity to appear.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid
Thank you, Monsieur Haché.
We will now move to our last witness for this panel, Spousal Sponsorship Advocates, represented by Madam Misha Pelletier.
Madam Pelletier, you have five minutes for your opening remarks.
Misha Pelletier Representative, Spousal Sponsorship Advocates
Madam Chair and distinguished members of the committee, families have had to face a heart-wrenching reality since the pandemic began. Prolonged separation for indeterminate periods and the passage of time merely heighten the fear and suffering that families experience. I am here representing 8,000 individuals.
The announcement on June 8 was briefly celebrated, until we realized we were excluded from the announced measures. Although we had the option of filing temporary residence visa applications, those applications have gone unanswered or have been denied under paragraph 179(b) of the immigration and refugee protection regulations on the ground that we are inadmissible as a result of travel restrictions. Families have thus felt they are victims of discriminatory treatment because those who come from developed countries are allowed to enter Canada, but not others.
Then came the announcement on September 25, which promised that processing would be expedited and priority given to family reunification applications. We waited with cautious optimism for those promises to be kept. An important point in the announcement was that interviews via videoconference would be introduced. However, our members are still waiting for the government to deliver on those promises. In actual fact, waiting times for interviews often exceed 18 months. The interviews are urgently needed to accelerate family reunification and to limit travel during a pandemic.
Although travel is a problem, IRCC continues to require us to travel in order to complete medical examinations. This process must take place in the home country of sponsored persons. Where that is impossible, we propose that medical exams be conducted in Canada as a last resort and that a visitor visa suffice for that purpose.
Today, nearly nine months after the pandemic started, generic responses from IRCC, claiming COVID-19 as an excuse, are still the norm. What measures are taken are slow. If, as announced, 12,000 decisions have been reached since October, we would appreciate an explanation of the reasons why so many families have seen so little change in their cases.
In addition, on October 30, dual intent was underscored in an instruction from IRCC concerning the visitor visa. We have observed limited positive results, but the delays and waiting have lasted months. Many cases have also been denied. Although it is clearly stated that the applicant has an opportunity to address officers' concerns respecting the applicant's intent before his or her decision, very few of our members have been contacted.
The standards that frame paragraph 179(b) have been drafted in such a way that the applications of millions of Canadians would be denied. Applicants must own a house and a business and have a long travel history and thousands of dollars in savings. However, IRCC imposes these stiff requirements on applicants from developing countries, where economic conditions are often unfavourable. Do we characterize spouses from the United States or Europe during a visit in the same manner? The answer is no. This paragraph should be repealed.
The visitor visa as such has no clear protocol or directive and is highly discriminatory. For certain individuals, it is not an option. Consequently, we propose more economical and effective solutions.
In the short term, we propose that: criminal investigations be submitted with the initial file; biometrics be processed on arrival in Canada; visas should be issued electronically; and work visas should be issued at the port of entry.
In the long term, we propose that there be single window access to the IRCC site, which the representative and individuals may access with specific chronological file status, as well as online submission of permanent residence applications, with required original documents forwarded after the fact.
As we continue this study, we know that the findings and changes will take several months. During that time…
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid
I am sorry to interrupt, Madam Pelletier, but your time is up.
We will now move to our next round of questioning with Ms. Dancho for six minutes.
Conservative
Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the witnesses for being with us today. We appreciate their testimony.
Mrs. Pelletier, I have a few questions for you.
I know we have had a conversation previously, and I found your story very compelling of why there needs to be some change in this process. If you feel comfortable, would you share a bit more about your experience? My understanding is, if my memory serves me, you have been waiting for about two or three years for your husband's application, and you have a child together.
Would you like to share a bit more about that with the committee?
Representative, Spousal Sponsorship Advocates
We started our first application in September 2018. This is our second application. When we started our first application, we did it here in Canada under common law. His visa had expired in the meantime, and he was asked to submit his application outside of Canada.
I have a child from my previous marriage, but he has become the stepfather of my child and is a very active member in our family. He was asked to go back and apply to come to Canada in April 2019. We needed to submit an outland application. He would be in Tunisia and I would be here. I went to Tunisia and we had to get married in order to start a new application.
Our application was submitted in August 2019, and another year has passed, so it has been two years that we are in the process now.
Conservative
Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
It has been about 14 months since you put forward a second application after you were married, so you started afresh with that application.
What is the communication from IRCC been like with you? Have you done the interview process?
Representative, Spousal Sponsorship Advocates
We don't need an interview since we lived together in Canada. We have a lot of proof of our Canadian lifestyle together. We're not pending an interview right now. We actually received the pre-arrival letter, but I have heard that it can collect dust for up to six months. With the delays and everything, you just never know.
Conservative
Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
It's good news that you have received the pre-arrival letter and you will keep us posted, I'm sure.
Conservative
Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
You mentioned the group you're with to advocate for families in a similar situation to you is 8,000 strong. What has been some of the feedback you have received from them in the past number of months? The Minister of Immigration mentioned he would process 6,000 applications every month for October, November and December, which is 18,000.
Have you received any positive or negative feedback?
Representative, Spousal Sponsorship Advocates
We see there is movement compared to when it was COVID and all the visa offices were shut down. We're still waiting for interviews. We haven't received any interviews at this point, which is huge. Some people have waited over 18 months just for an interview.
There are also the expiries of the medicals, so they are being asked to do their medicals again even though these people are relatively healthy. It is not that easy to do medicals again. A person from Cuba, for instance, needs to travel to Tobago. It's costly. It can cost up to $6,000 to do a medical again.
Conservative
Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Has IRCC provided any options, or have you had any discussions with IRCC? Because of COVID and the expiry of medicals, do you know if there's any thought on extending the medical expiry date, and just applying the last one? Is IRCC open to that idea?
Representative, Spousal Sponsorship Advocates
It's hit or miss. It depends on the file. From what I have seen, even a healthy young couple will be asked to do a medical.
It's confusing. We don't know why some people are given extensions and others aren't given extensions, but given the situation with COVID, you would think that at this point, everybody would at least have the extended medicals.
Conservative
Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
You mentioned that no interviews are happening. Is that because they're not able to...? You have to do the interview in person. Is that it?
Representative, Spousal Sponsorship Advocates
From what I heard, they were offering video conferencing, and that was part of the announcement on September 25. Honestly, from what I've heard, they're not equipped to do these video conferences yet. Considering that these are Canadian employees in these offices all over the world and we have the same communication, you'd think that by now, with COVID-19, they would have supplied these agents with the right equipment in order to do these interviews.
Conservative
Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Yes, it has been nine months, and you're understanding from certain visa offices that have Canadian employees, Canadian offices in other countries that would process and do these interviews, that they haven't been equipped with the technology in the past nine months.