Citizenship and Immigration Committee on May 27th, 2024

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Good morning, I call this meeting to order.

We are meeting in public.

Welcome to meeting number 101 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.

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Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format. Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe and Mr. El-Khoury are online.

I would also like to welcome Mr. Khanna and Mr. Morrice to the meeting. Welcome to both of you.

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All comments should be addressed through the chair.

Today, we continue the briefing on temporary immigration measures initiated in response to the ongoing conflicts in Sudan and Gaza.

We have with us the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Honourable Marc Miller, along with officials Dr. Harpreet Singh Kochhar, deputy minister; Jennifer MacIntyre, assistant deputy minister, international affairs and crisis response; and Mr. Karim Virani, director general, international crises response.

Minister and officials, welcome to the meeting.

I will go now to Minister Miller.

Please proceed with your opening statement.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Thank you, Chair.

I would like to start by acknowledging that we are meeting on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people here in Ottawa.

Thank you for inviting me back to discuss the immigration measures my department has introduced in response to the humanitarian crises in both Gaza and Sudan.

Let me start by speaking on the devastating situation in Gaza.

As you're aware, conditions there are changing drastically day by day, making our efforts both more urgent and more challenging. The biggest challenge continues to be what Canada does not control, which is in particular who can exit the Gaza Strip and when.

Under the special immigration measures we implemented in January for extended family in Gaza, once an applicant exits Gaza, they will complete their biometrics screening in Egypt before being issued a temporary resident visa.

There is no questioning the anguish and frustration that Palestinians in Canada and indeed around the world are feeling as they wait tirelessly for their family members and families to be safe. I want to make it clear to family members that Canada continues to put in every effort on every level to facilitate the safe exit of their loved ones.

While we have been limited in our success, it is certainly not for lack of trying. We won't give up on bringing family members to safety.

Canada continues to put forward the names of applicants who passed our preliminary screening to local authorities. Israel and Egypt are both important partners in implementing these temporary humanitarian measures. We are working closely with both governments to facilitate the exit of extended family members and advocate for their safety. We are also continuing to process applications from those who were able to leave without our assistance.

Given the many Canadians and permanent residents seeking to help their extended family in Gaza, I would like to announce that we have increased the number of temporary resident visa applications that will be accepted into processing—from 1,000 to 5,000.

The work has been done and continues to be done, but has been done over the past few weeks to that end. We've been issuing more client codes in anticipation of this so that people can apply for those temporary resident visas.

As the border is currently closed, movement out of Gaza is not possible. However, the situation may change at any time, and with this cap increase we'll be ready to help more people.

We have also confirmed that those in Gaza who already possess a valid temporary resident or super visa can identify themselves to us through our crisis web form if they need our help to exit. This process can also be used by those outside Gaza to get our help in finalizing their applications to come to Canada, whether it's part of our special measures or on a regular visa.

Regarding Sudan, we've been working to welcome those impacted by the conflict when it first broke out a year ago. These efforts include Sudanese and non-Sudanese nationals alike in all immigration categories.

Over the past year, we’ve welcomed more than 4,000 people from Sudan as permanent residents and 1,500 as temporary residents.

In February, we introduced a new, temporary family-based humanitarian pathway to permanent residence for those who fled the conflict and may now come to Canada to be with their extended family. This program will enable Canada to help even more people from Sudan. We may well have filled the spaces currently available.

For those already in Canada, we are waiving fees and extending certain exemptions to support them in applying for new study or work permits, extending their existing temporary status or becoming a permanent resident under the family class. These measures are available until October 27, 2024 to align with the expiry of similar measures for Sudanese nationals in Canada as temporary residents.

In keeping with our long-standing tradition, Canada is also welcoming people from Sudan as government-assisted and privately sponsored refugees. Almost one thousand refugees were approved to come to Canada in the past year. We’re working with our partners to expedite all arrivals to Canada under our special measures.

We will continue to focus on keeping families together and bringing them to safety as quickly as we can.

Thank you, Chair.

I'm happy to take any and all questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you, Minister.

We will now proceed to the questions.

I will go to Mr. Kmiec for six minutes.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

Off the start, I'm going to split my time with Mr. Redekopp.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Any time.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Minister, on the Sudan program, it closed as of May 6, 2024. How many applications did the department receive?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

The number of applications submitted, Mr. Kmiec, ranges in the 3,600 number. Applications accepted into processing are 2,542. That includes 5,814 individuals, excluding non-accompanying dependants. We expect that number of expected arrivals to merge into about 7,000 individuals.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

You've announced special programs, a humanitarian program for Gaza. The numbers are increasing. Will you be doing the same with Sudan?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

Currently, the programs are different in their nature, one being, in the case of Sudan, aimed towards permanent residency, the other temporary. We'll look at the situation as it evolves. Again, there are challenges within my own department, security partners and actual logistics in getting this done. These, I believe, are the ones that we have the capacity for in the context, but we have to obviously remain flexible given the conditions on the ground.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

How many of those from Sudan have actually made it to Canada, are physically present in Canada?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

Other than the ones that have come as refugees over the course of the past year, which I spoke to in French, under this particular program there have not been any. We're doing our best to hopefully secure some of the landings towards the end of this year.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Out of Sudan, millions have fled the country or are internally displaced. On the applications that have been approved by the department, where are these people physically located right now?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

They can be located anywhere. They could be in Sudan itself. They could be in Egypt. They could have, as you mentioned, fled to third party countries.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Does the department not know where these people are located physically right now?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

When we have the applications, we have their location, yes.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

You have the information then?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

I'm not going through every location with you, like every application.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Can the department provide it to the committee?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

We could probably provide a breakdown of where those locations are generally by percentage.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

By percentage or by totals?

I would like to know the totals by country.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

I gave you the total of applications.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Excuse me, one person at a time. I was giving you the opportunity to talk directly. I would intervene now. One person at a time, because it's very hard for interpreters to interpret.

Mr. Kmiec, go ahead, please.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

I just want to know if the minister will definitely provide the totals to the committee.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

Tell us what you want and we can tell you what we'll give you.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

I would like to know the applications that have been received and approved for the Sudan program, and which country they are in physically right now when their application was approved.